


Incomplete

by Team_Cap



Series: RuSa fanfictions [8]
Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crime, Crime Scenes, F/M, Franticshipping - Freeform, Friendship, Gen, Relationship stuff going on there, Romance, maybe a bit of mystery but we'll see, some characters may use some foul language which explains the rating, ルサ
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-07-14 15:45:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 42,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16043540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Cap/pseuds/Team_Cap
Summary: Sapphire, alongside Moon, has worked hard over the past two years perfecting a miracle medicine. However, something happens that'll put her relationships and career in danger.





	1. Good News and Insecurities

**Author's Note:**

> And after all the breakdowns and doubts I've been through in this fic, it's finally here. My passion project! This fic is literally the hardest one I have ever written and it's honestly the most fun too. :o
> 
> I know I used to call it "Photographs" when I announced this, but I changed the title since it doesn't fit. "Incomplete" sounds more fitting as the story's title. You'll probably find out why it's called like that, hehe. ^^'
> 
> Again, this is a "Modern Day AU" fanfic so no Pokemon. Ruby and Sapphire are in their late 20s in this fic while the younger dexholders are well, just follow their ages in your respective interpretations of the PokeSpe timeline that PokeSpedia showed (since it is the official timeline). Yeah, technically they are younger but it's in your interpretation how young they are to avoid any misunderstanding.
> 
> (Also my writing style changed so the chapters aren't gonna be super long)
> 
> With those being said, I got one more thing...
> 
>  
> 
> **HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAPPHIRE! She deserves happiness. ;w;**
> 
>  
> 
> **Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story.**

* * *

A flash of a camera blinded the area for a few seconds. The models started blinking once the photographer removed the camera in front of them. They stood up from their seats and went backstage after seeing the photographer lazily nod at them.

A sigh left the photographer's mouth. An option appeared on the camera screen, telling him that the camera couldn't occupy any more photos for its memory was full. The photographer just stared blankly at the screen, wondering what he should do.

"And you  _better_ save that photo, Ruby!"

Ruby's eyebrows creased. He remained quiet and as he went to his seat, he connected the camera on the laptop placed on his desk. He couldn't bear to delete all of the pictures in his camera's memory; they were all important to him. It contained photos of his province's beautiful landscapes, dresses he randomly saw in the mall, and memories he had shared with his parents, his friends and Sapphire. He placed his right fingers on the laptop's touchpad as he tried his best to find duplicate pictures that he needed to delete.

"I swear you need to buy a separate camera for your work." His co-worker stated. He placed his hand on the chair as he looked at the laptop. He became a bit dizzy as he watched Ruby scroll down through the different sets of photos the camera contained. He closed his eyes, pressing his palm on it. "God freaking dammit!" He cursed and used a paper fan to smack Ruby's head. "Just delete  _one_  goddamn photo! You can always take another photo of those damn mountains or dresses next time!"

Ruby bit his lip. He stood up and placed his hands on his co-worker's shoulders. His face darkened.

His co-worker felt a lump in his throat as a shiver ran through his spine. He swore Ruby looked like his former boss whenever he was pissed. "I-I'm only telling the truth!" He tried to argue and gulped. Despite his trembling arms, he tried to remove Ruby's hands from his shoulders. "Those photos are just irrelevant! And besides those damn landscapes and dresses, you seem to have more than one picture of that girl with you. I'm assuming that she is your girlfriend since you  _couldn't_  even bear to delete any pictures from your camera with or without her!"

Ruby turned his head, avoiding his co-worker's gaze. "And...what if she is?" He muttered coldly. He thought about what he said.

It was true that he and Sapphire were very close these past few months. Their relationship turned into something beyond friendship the longer they lived together under the same roof. Up until now, Ruby and Sapphire haven't discussed anything about their unspoken relationship. No words were needed to confirm if they were in a romantic relationship or not; their intimate gestures were enough to answer his question. He sighed and tucked his hands in pockets. He left his co-worker alone in the studio.

"You better get back here, you hear me!" He yelled and sat on the chair. He sighed as he watched Ruby disappear from his sight, and looked at the laptop. If Ruby didn't have any plans to finish the job then he should do it himself. Why did it always have to be him? "Dammit. What is wrong with him? He said that chick is his girlfriend and after saying that he went silent and freaking left me here. What a nuisance."

Ruby went to the roof deck of the building. He slammed the door shut, hoping no one bothered to follow him. He closed his eyes when the city cool breeze touched his skin. He took a deep breath as he placed his shoulder on the handrail.

Ruby's job was simple: he was a professional photographer and a dress designer. He often made clothes for actors and actresses whether they were performing on the big or small screens, or on the stage like Broadway musicals. His job was nothing similar to Sapphire's. As he thought about it, she seemed to be more successful than him. He bit his lip and looked down at the people walking from street to street then sighed.

If he were going to be honest, he couldn't help but to detest himself.

It was odd, though; Ruby never self-loathed. He often had enough confidence to say that he was a great person. Sometimes, he may sound too confident but now, he couldn't bring it up to her or to anyone. He was Sapphire's rival; one of the many qualities of their rivalry consists of them being at the very top of their respective careers. But the way he does his work nowadays made him feel like he was losing. He was not ashamed to lose, though. He knew he could work his way back to the top.

His phone started vibrating from his pocket, snapping him out from his thoughts. Curious, Ruby took his phone out and looked at the caller ID. His insecurities suddenly vanished once he saw her name.

"Sapphire, hey."

" _Hey,"_  Sapphire said on the other line. She grabbed her backpack from the couch.

Ruby let out a soft chuckle. Her cute voice was always enough to lift his mood. "You called early."

" _Yeah,"_  She chuckled along with him. " _Listen, I'll be heading straight to our house. I'll buy food, don't worry."_

He smiled, his eyes remained on the vast, blue sky. "That's my job."

" _I just wanna treat ya,"_  She said, closing the door in her office. She opened her bag rummaged through her stuff in it. After several seconds, she found a key. " _Anyway, I'll be off for a moment. Is there anything else you would like me to buy on the way home?"_

He thought about it carefully. She didn't need to buy him anything; being together for months had always been enough. Though, in his mind and in his heart, he was yearning for something else, something more; a date. He wanted a nice, peaceful date with her where their minds were free from the thoughts of their jobs. He hoped this time she would be available for once. He knew that going out on a date seemed unnecessary at the moment, but it was the only thing he could think of to ease his insecurities.

They've been a couple for a while now. However, due to work, they have had little to no chance to progress it any further; lack of communication has begun to hurt their relationship.

Gathering up all the confidence he had left, he tried to speak, "I-I'm good. Stay safe. Send me a text message when you're home." He gritted his teeth.  _Dammit._  That was not what he wanted to say.

" _I will. You too. See ya later."_  She said before ending their call.

Ruby let out a deep sigh and dropped his phone in his pocket. Every time he had the chance or the confidence to ask her out, his mouth often betrayed him. It felt like there was something blocking his tongue, and even his mind, whenever he tried to ask that specific question.

He was ashamed of himself. It had been twenty-five months since he confessed his love for her, but he hadn't made the first move despite their relationship status. He blamed their work, for it was keeping them busy. Though there were times where they had dinner and breakfast together, all they talk about was work especially when Sapphire's success started.

In his defense, however, he had a good reason why he was cautious when asking her out. Sapphire's family passed away and she had to deal with her grief for almost two years. He confessed to her on impulse around that event, and he deeply regretted confessing at the wrong time. He swore on that day that he would ask Sapphire out when the time was right.

 _Maybe I can ask her out tonight._ He thought, gaining a newfound energy. He was determined that this time, he would do it correctly. With one last grip on the handrail, Ruby scurried off and headed straight into the studio. Once he made it, he turned off his camera and started packing.

A knock on his desk made him stop. He could only sigh and turn around.

"Ruby, I need to talk to you before you leave," His boss said. His tone was strict and Ruby felt that he was in trouble. He could only guess that his coworker complained about him again. "In my office. Now."

Ruby just nodded and put on his backpack. He followed his boss to his office.

 

* * *

 

Ruby gritted his teeth as he stomped his way on the lobby. He was right: his co-worker did complain about him. It was enough to ruin his mood, and he was having a good day as well. He shrugged it off and shook his head. He couldn't come home stressed. Sapphire would be worried about him, and he didn't want that. He held his breath and entered the condominium's elevator. He pressed the fourth-floor button and leaned his body on the handrails.

It had been a month since he and Sapphire lived in this condominium. It had always been his dream to live in a fancy condominium as he worked in the city, and now that he'd achieved it, it was time to look for a new dream. But what could it be?

His mind wandered off to Sapphire and her success. He humbly admit that her success made him proud and happy. It was often rewarding to see a smile on Sapphire's face. It felt like he could scream to the world at how happy he was just by seeing her smile. It may seem out of character, but that's what he felt.

The elevator stopped and slid its doors open, revealing the fourth floor's hallway.

Ruby went off and headed straight to their shared condo unit: room four hundred and sixty-nine. He stopped and clicked on the doorbell, waiting for Sapphire to open it.

"It's five-thirty," Sapphire opened the door while Ruby went inside. He placed his blue cap on the hat stand. "Are ya alright?"

"Huh?" Ruby asked, his eyes wandered all over the place just to avoid her gaze. It was always nice that she'd thought of him, but she didn't really need to know what happened with his work. His eyes stopped scanning the area once he felt her warm hands cupping his cheeks. "Sapph..." He tried to speak, but he was mesmerized by her worried gem-like eyes.

Sapphire let out a cough and awkwardly slid her hands off from his cheeks with a blush. "Is it yer coworker again?"

Ruby was speechless. How did she know?

She sighed, biting her lip. She grabbed his hand and took him to the dining area. "Dinner is ready. We can talk about that while we're eatin'."

Ruby gently held her hand, letting the small warmth from it spread through his palm. He was slightly disappointed when she removed it on his to grab the take-out food from the oven.

"Just sit down. I'll handle this."

Ruby just nodded and sat in front of her. He watched her place a box of vegetable pizza on the table. The scent of their food lingered in the air, and Ruby just realized how hungry he was when she placed three slices of pizza on his plate.

"So..." Ruby started after consuming half of the veggie pizza. His eyes were fixed on her. A smile perked on his lips as he grabbed a tissue paper in the box. "What's the sudden celebration?"

"Huh?" Sapphire was confused. Her eyebrows furrowed. She was kind of busy with her slice of pizza that she almost forgot why she did this in the first place.

Ruby chuckled and wiped off the excess tomato sauce on her lower lip. Sapphire's cheeks heat up at this and hastily grab the tissue from him. "A-About that," She stuttered, setting the tissue paper aside.

"Hmm?" Ruby rose an eyebrow and continued eating the remaining slice of pizza on his plate. The smile on his lips didn't fade. She always looked so cute whenever she was getting away from an awkward situation.

"Remember when my research with Moon was a success? And...science people from all over the world would go to my office just to ask me about it?"

Ruby bobbed his head for a nod. How could he forget? That revolutionary medicine was the reason why Sapphire was at the top of her career. Her years of research and hard work had finally paid off despite the struggles she'd faced. The moment the anticancer medicine she made with Moon helped the volunteered patient get better, news about it spread like wildfire. Scientists, researchers, and even college students would go to Sapphire's office at Devon Corporation just to learn something about it. Sometimes, seminars were held just so Sapphire could help the curious people learn more about the medicine.

"One of them was planning to spread it to the public. President Stone said she had a research facility in another country so I guess they wanna spread the medicine there."

"And you agreed?" He didn't need to ask. He knew Sapphire only wanted to help. That was the purpose of the medicine in the first place: to help people despite the money they would offer. Her selfless reason was one of the qualities he admired most about her.

"Well," Sapphire tucked a loose hair behind her ear. Her fangs poked from her top lip. Ruby swore she looked even cuter than before. "I was planning to. We haven't discussed it yet. And if it was a success, I was hoping I can help more people with it."

"You will. You're doing the right thing, don't worry." He reached his hand and held hers tightly. His eyes were burning with passion as he smiled. "I'm happy for you."

"T-Thank ya," She mumbled, slowly sliding off her hands from his. She stood up and closed the pizza box.

Ruby watched her grab their empty plates and placed it in the kitchen. His eyes darted at his right hand. He already felt how the warmth he'd shared with her vanished. It was enough to make him frown. He sighed. "Sapph?"

"Hmm?" She didn't look at him. Her eyes remained on the dishes she was washing.

"Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Ruby swore he would punch himself for asking such a ridiculous question. Sure, their condo unit was large enough for two people to live in it, but there wasn't a separate bed. Chances of them sleeping together were high. But Ruby chose to respect her privacy and offered to sleep on the floor despite her protests. They weren't able to sleep together until he was sick with a fever last week. He admit that having her in his arms every night was one of the greatest feelings he had ever shared with her. "I mean..."

"S-Sure," She responded. She tried to focus her attention on the dishes just to ignore her steaming cheeks. She gulped. Nothing happened between them when they slept together for a week, but she admit that she felt safe when she slept with him on the same bed. She sighed, hoping to cool down her cheeks, as she dried her hands. "Just...Just don't do anythin' stupid." She knew he wouldn't. She trusted that he wouldn't, yet she felt like she had to say it just to ease the awkward tension.

"I won't. I promise." Ruby smiled and offered and his hand. She didn't hesitate to accept it. Heat crept onto both their cheeks when they felt the warmth from each other's hand.

Ruby held his breath. He didn't know what was going on with him, but it felt like he  _needed_  to do this. Once they made it into the bedroom, he didn't hesitate to pull Sapphire down so that she was lying on top of him. He later thought about how crazy he was for doing this, but knowing that Sapphire didn't pull away nor complain was enough for him to continue.

Sapphire held her breath when she felt her chest collide with his as his arms started to wrap around her waist. She didn't know what was going on with him. Her mind was jumbled. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, yet at the same time, she felt relaxed in his arms. Giving in, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

Ruby bit his lip. He watched the woman he loves snuggle on his chest. His heart rate increased. He was tempted to kiss her until she felt comfortable, but he decided to just hold her close for now. He sighed as his eyes went on the ceiling. It would be nice to confess to her again, but when would he have the courage to do it?

Perhaps they were in a romantic relationship by virtue of their actions but he wanted to talk about it with Sapphire. If only they weren't tired from their work and then they would have the time and energy to talk.  _But when would it be?_


	2. Project Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyy, thank you so much for all the feedback in the first chapter! Whether you just read it, followed, favourited, reviewed/commented or messaged me on discord, I really appreciated it! It means a lot and motivates me, hehe. I'm always anxious about the first chapter since it'll expose what will this fic be about so yeah. But knowing some people like it just makes me happy so thank you. Enough of my blabbering, haha, here's chapter 2!
> 
> Also, happy birthday to my friend, chocochan015! :D

* * *

The sun rose from the east. A flock of birds chirped in the park as some flew into the sky. People started waking up to prepare for the day as the sun's rays started engulfing the city. It slowly reached a certain condo unit and onto someone's slumbering face.

Sapphire shut her eyes hard and let out a soft yawn. She tried to get up from the bed, but a pair of strong arms were holding her down. Sighing, she lifted her face away from the 'moving pillow' as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her right ear. Her face flushed from their position. She'd almost forgotten that she had slept with Ruby last night. The thought of it was enough to make her faint. It was too much, and yet it was such a great feeling.

Nothing else happened between them last night, though. She had simply laid on his arms as he snuggled closer. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Ruby started moving his face closer. Her thoughts were disarranged when his face was mere centimeters away from hers, but it was odd that she never tried to push him away. Normally, she would do so just to ease her anxious heart. But last night was different. She didn't stop him from kissing her, and to top it all off she actually returned the kiss. They almost...made out last night.

Sapphire shook her head at the thought. She had to keep in mind that Ruby hadn't asked her out yet ever since their relationship established its intimacy. She too wanted to say that she also loved him back when he confessed to her for the first time. But her grief had got in the way and made her scared of being in a romantic relationship with him. If things didn't work out, she might lose him. And she'd lost important people already; she couldn't afford to experience the same with Ruby.

Although, Sapphire was thankful that he was so patient and understanding. She planned to confess to him one day, but at the same time, she felt like they need to address their relationship first. Work just seemed to always get in the way.

"Sapphire?"

Sapphire blinked her eyes, registering what just happened. Ruby's right hand was cupping her cheek while the other remained on her waist. How long was she in a trance?

"Are you alright?" He asked while she just bit her lip and removed herself from their position.

She stood up and sighed. She needed a shower to get her mind off things. "I have to go to work."

"I'll walk you there." Ruby stood up as well. He distanced himself from her. He could only conclude that he made her uncomfortable, and taking her to work was his only way to make it up to her.

"There's no need." She responded, opening the cabinet. She grabbed a bathrobe and a towel.

"But I made you uncomfortable." He reasoned, making Sapphire let out a sigh. If she declined, he would ask her again tomorrow.

"Today would be nice." She smiled before going to the bathroom.

Ruby just nodded and sat on the bed. He  _really_  needed to make it up to her, but what else could he do besides walking with her? He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. He could always go for the usual chocolates and flowers, but Sapphire wasn't an ordinary girl. He knew she secretly liked those things, but he wanted to do something else. He sighed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He first stumbled on Blue's message.  _I wonder why she texted me?_

_**From Blue:**  Meet me at Lumiose Café at eight._

_Why?_  Ruby responded through a text message. It didn't take a minute before Blue responded to his message.

_**From Blue:**  Just go, okay? We need to talk about something._

_Alright._  He responded and placed his phone back on the nightstand. His mind wondered about Blue's request. What would they talk about? He just hoped it wasn't about his relationship with Sapphire or Sapphire herself. It was not that he always felt uncomfortable when it comes to talking about Sapphire (it was his favorite topic, in fact) but Blue often found a way to tease him about it.

She was one of the few people who was dying to know about his relationship status with Sapphire and his response? He didn't know. Through their actions, they seemed like a couple, and perhaps they were, in actuality. But they haven't really talked about it yet. He was cautious when it comes to that topic. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice, after all.

"S-Stop starin' at me!" Sapphire shrieked. She couldn't find the right words to say so she just shut her mouth and grabbed another towel from the cabinet. Although she was just wearing her bathrobe, it was still uncomfortable whenever Ruby looked at her. Why was he staring at her? Was he daydreaming again?

"E-Eh?" Ruby stuttered, turning around to face the wall. How long was he in a trance? "I-I wasn't looking!" He tried to argue. He really wasn't looking at her. He swore he wasn't. He was just thinking about something. That's why he didn't notice her.

"Pervert!"

"I-I'm not!" Ruby turned around only to meet a wet towel on his face. Well, he thought he deserved it for looking at her. The towel did smell nice, though. It captured her berry scent perfectly.

* * *

 

It would usually take thirty minutes for Sapphire to walk from her home to Devon Corporation. She could easily take a train or a cab to get there, lessening her travel time, but she opted to walk instead. Her main reason was walking could already serve as a form of exercise, and another reason was the fact that she loved to observe the city's natural scenery. The city may be different from the province, but she loved to see the morning sun touch each building as its rays reflected through its glass windows. It was like observing nature in a different setting and she enjoyed it.

Sapphire let out a chuckle and stopped in front of a store. She watched a young boy receive his favorite food from the seller.

Ruby noticed it and smiled. Seeing Sapphire happy was always enough for him. Although he had to admit that he was a bit jealous of the boy. He just made her smile, and he wished he could do that too. Sapphire once talked about a boy named Hau and his love for malasadas. She said she would often see the boy buy a malasada from this bakery and the two would sometimes have a quick chat. She described the boy as a ball of sunshine and Ruby now understood why. The boy wore a big smile on his face and the way he greeted them was warm and welcoming.

"Good mornin', Hau!" Sapphire patted the boy's head. Her smile turned into a grin. "Don't eat too much malasadas, 'kay?"

"I'll try!" Hau responded and bid farewell to the two. The smile on his face didn't waver.

"You wouldn't believe that he's the grandson of uncle Hala." Sapphire giggled and grabbed his hand. The two crossed the street.

Ruby held her hand tightly. It was the first time she had initiated holding hands with him, and he loved it. His smile widened at the thought.

* * *

 

The Devon Corporation is one of the biggest companies in the world filled with technicians, engineers, scientists, and researchers. The company had a long history on how it helped people with its inventions, and it continued doing so throughout the years.

The building had such unique architecture. It was a building shaped like a semicircle on top of a large rectangular shaped building. The dome served as a solar panel that provided the company's electricity and soon it would also provide the city's electricity as well with further research needed.

Sapphire stopped on her tracks and sighed. She turned around to face Ruby. "Thanks for walkin' me here. I'll see ya tonight."

Ruby just smiled and nodded. He gave their interlocked hands another soft squeeze before letting go. He sighed in relief once Sapphire entered the building. "Stay safe," He mumbled before taking out his phone to look at the time.

Eight o'clock in the morning. He still had time to catch up with Blue. He sent Blue a text message, saying his excuse for arriving late, before dropping his phone in his pocket. He looked at Devon's building for a few seconds before walking away from it.

* * *

 

Once Sapphire went past the security, she headed straight into her office. She grabbed a lab coat and her employee's ID. She placed it around her neck and went to the door. She stopped when she saw Moon was about to knock on the door.

"I was gonna look for ya, Moon." Sapphire closed the door behind her. She accepted the piece of paper Moon was holding.

"President Stone said I can explore Devon's building while I wait for you." Moon explained and walked along with Sapphire. She watched her older friend and research partner read the paper. Moon wasn't an employee in Devon. She only went to the company to help Sapphire discuss the revolutionary medicine they made. She was currently working in the Berlitz Research Facility when she finished college at a very young age.

"Professor Oak will attend the seminar," Sapphire mumbled. Professor Oak was one of her father's senior scientists before he passed away. She was anxious yet excited to discuss her research with the world-renowned scientist.

"Oh yes, I heard that our research's success made him curious. He wanted to know more."

"I see," Sapphire held her breath and looked at Moon. "Let's do our best then." Her tone sounded determined as a smile lit up on her face. She couldn't wait to get this seminar started.

* * *

 

**Lumiose Café**

**8:25 AM**

Lumiose Café was one of the city's biggest cafés. It was always surrounded by business people or students. The place often exuded that 'Bossa Nova' vibe whenever one entered to enjoy a cup of their beverages. It was known as a place to relieve one's stress, which was the very reason why it was often packed.

Ruby held onto his white beanie hat. His eyes wandered around the café. He sighed once he saw a familiar brunette sitting on the table. He first decided to buy a cup of hot cappuccino before taking a seat.

"About time you came," Blue locked her phone and placed it in her bag. "I had to order a cheesecake just so I could stay here."

"I'm really sorry." Ruby apologized and placed his cup of coffee on the table. He sat in front of her. "I had to walk Sapphire to work as I promised."

"Sapphire can take care of herself, you know," Blue stated the obvious, making Ruby roll his eyes.

"I know," He mumbled. The café's music continued to play in the background. Customers continued to enter or exit the café. Faint conversations of the other customers got mixed along with the music and the loud voices of the café's staff. "What did you wanna talk about?" He asked after a moment of silence.

Blue looked at him; her eyes piqued with curiosity. "I'm curious about your relationship with Sapphire."

Ruby swallowed hard. His heartbeat increased its pace. It was exactly what he thought this talk would be. No one knew about his relationship with Sapphire, even his own parents. He did plan on telling them once they managed to get some free time.

Blue arched an eyebrow, sighing. She knew that her friends had feelings for each other, but as much as she wanted to tell Ruby about it, she thought it was best to stay out of it. It was between Ruby and Sapphire, after all. They needed to discuss it on their own, but she would be more than happy to support them along the way. "For the record, you two act more than just friends."

Ruby's cheeks flushed at that. Were they really  _that_  obvious? He let out a cough, fixing his gaze on his cup of hot cappuccino and sighed. He had no other options now, did he? "A-And...what if we were?"

Blue gasped then squealed. "So my guess was right!"

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows. "You—what?"

"Let's just say I have my way of knowing." Blue winked and giggled.

Ruby could only let out a sigh. He wouldn't be surprised if news about his relationship with Sapphire would spread fast.

"Since when? How long were you two in a relationship?"

Ruby could only shrug. He couldn't tell for how long they were together as a couple. It just happened. They just became more intimate last month and last week just made him confirm that they were certainly more than friends just by observing their gestures. He would definitely not tell every detail to Blue, though. She might end up teasing him.

"Oh come on, Ruby! I'm your friend and I  _also_  happened to be Sapphire's friend. I have the right to know." Blue begged then sighed. He seemed to be acting differently. He would usually drop the topic and talk about something else that didn't involve Sapphire. It was a surprise that this talk lasted for more than ten seconds. "Let me guess: you haven't told your parents about this?"

Ruby shook his head. He swore he heard Blue grumble at his response.

"Your parents have to know, Ruby, and not just your parents, but Sapphire's parents as well. They may be gone from this world but a visit wouldn't hurt."

"Sapphire and I are busy with work," Ruby reasoned and looked at his cup of coffee. "I haven't even asked her out yet since we're  _that_  busy. I don't know when will I have the time to ask her out." He gritted his teeth.

"I can tell that you're not yourself today," Blue responded, grabbing something in her bag. "The Ruby I know is always confident."

Ruby sighed and simply took another sip of his coffee.

"Maybe it's because you're letting fear control you again?"

Ruby couldn't believe she was right. He was worried that he might confess to her at a wrong time again, and possibly jeopardize their relationship.  _And I can't let that happen._  He thought then stopped to take a deep breath, feeling his stomach slowly twisted into knots. He needed to stop worrying about the consequences.

"It's tough, I know but you can't let her wait forever. Maybe wait for a national holiday and  _then_  ask her out. But I have to be honest, Ruby," Blue took a deep breath. She handed him a box of tissues. "Please  _don't_  focus on your fear of losing her. That's not the right mindset. You should be happy that you two are finally together. Think of the positive things your relationship with her has brought to you."

"I  _am_  happy that we're together," Ruby stressed while Blue just nodded.

"I know and that's good, but you have to remember that even if you two were already in a relationship, it's often a wise choice to have a decent talk about it. Gently, of course." She stood up from her seat. She gave him a pat on the shoulder.

Ruby's gaze remained on the table and bit his lip. Blue's words lingered in his head.

"I'll be off to work. Please, do try to ask her out and talk about that unspoken thing. Don't make me do the work for you." Blue fixed her hat before heading out from the café.

Blue's words lingered in Ruby's head as he sat there. She was right about everything; he should just talk to her. He had to; he couldn't let her wait forever. He was lucky that they were finally together despite the struggles they'd face, but a talk about their relationship must happen sooner or later. He also didn't need to set an appointment with Sapphire, for they lived under the same roof. He sighed and finished his cappuccino. As he left the café, he reminded himself to not rush things with Sapphire. He just needed to find some free time and just talk to Sapphire.

 

* * *

 

Sapphire let out a sigh and dug her hands in her pockets. She watched Moon and the scientists who attended their seminar leave Devon Corporation's building. She grabbed her phone, scribbling through her social media accounts, as she walked to her office.

Today's seminar was a success like all the other seminars she'd held, but this one was different. Not only had Professor Oak come to her seminar, but he'd also praised her and Moon for a job well done. She couldn't help but smile whenever she thought about it. Professor Oak was probably the most famous scientist of this century and receiving his praise was a huge honor.

She stopped on her tracks and opened the door in her office. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of her boss and a female researcher sitting beside him.

"Hello there!" A researcher greeted with a smile. She was a dark-skinned, tall woman with blue eyes and a long, fly-away styled black hair. Two of its locks were colored blue, just like her eyes. Her long, black hair had a unique, spiky hairstyle.

"H-Hi," Sapphire greeted and closed the door.

"Good morning, Sapphire." President Stone greeted with a smile and gestured his employee to sit on the couch. He had thick spiky grey hair, small dark eyes, and a flat looking face. He was wearing a large thick overcoat with two rows of buttons over a white shirt with a tie. "This is Shelly. She's the researcher I was talking about. And Shelly, this is Sapphire. She's the daughter of the late Professor Birch."

"O-Oh," Shelly spoke softly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's alright." Sapphire beamed cheerfully and shook hands with Shelly. "My dad wanted me to continue living and help people. That's what I've been doing since he passed away."

President Stone let out a laugh and patted Sapphire's shoulder. "See? Not only Sapphire is a great researcher but she's also this company's ball of sunshine."

Sapphire bit her lip, hiding the small blush on her cheeks. Her boss didn't need to state that.

"It's an honor to meet a great researcher." Shelly smiled, grabbing a pot of tea, and poured it into three cups. "As you can see, I'm a researcher from another country. There are people there who suffer from poverty. Some of those people couldn't afford the medicine that their doctors prescribed." She handed a cup of tea to President Stone and to Sapphire. She placed the teapot down. "I'm assuming the medicine you created will be a bit expensive once it's out in the public."

Sapphire bit her lip and placed the cup of tea on the coaster. She hadn't thought of that. She and Moon may have tested it on one patient, but the future of the revolutionary medicine wasn't discussed well yet. If her wishes were going to be followed, she would like to sell it for free so the poor could afford it.

"If that's the case, then I would like to take your medicine there in my country. The project will be funded and we'll find a way for the poor people to afford it. I was thinking to give it to them for free if that's alright. Oh, and...you don't have to worry about funding the project. I talked to President Stone about it and he agreed to."

Sapphire slowly bobbed her head for a nod. Her gaze remained on her lap. She wanted to agree with Shelly, but she had to remember that she wasn't the only one who made that cure. "You see," She started and gulped. "I wasn't alone in creatin' that medicine. And, as much as I agree with ya, I have to talk to my research partner about this first."

"I understand." Shelly smiled and nodded. "My flight is one week from now. Is it alright to have a decisive answer around this week?"

Sapphire took a deep breath. She just nodded.

"Thank you so much." Shelly stood up from her seat as President Stone escorted her outside.

Sapphire was left alone in her office to think. She would love to give the medicine to the public for free, but she also needed Moon's consent. She sighed, placing her phone on the desk. She wanted to help people. She knew creating that miraculous medicine would also mean business, but she was determined to do whatever it takes to help people. The real question was, though, could she even convince Moon to agree with it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lumiose Café just came out randomly, haha, but imagine the city is like New York or Castelia City.
> 
> I have to be honest; I always thought this chapter is boring. I tried to rewrite it but it always ended up as being boring. Maybe because it's a "normal day at work"? Haha, but hey, I hope you like it. Not sure when will I update the next chapter since I'll be busy with paper works 'cause I'll be going back to school (parents are forcing me to finish the college program I hate) so yeah.
> 
> Stay safe, everyone! ^^
> 
> Edited (October 16, 2018): I'm sorry. I was really tired yesterday so I forgot to double check but I fixed Blue and Ruby's talk. It didn't change much but it explained a bit more about Ruby.


	3. Reflect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely forgot that I still have this fic...to be honest. I've been working on a lot of one-shots recently then forget to edit them. I'm sorry about that. I've been busy with college lately and well...you know the drill. Plus mental health issues but that's not important; never will be. Thank you all for taking your time to comment/review in the previous chapters. It means a lot to read them. :D

* * *

Streetlights slowly lit up along with all the buildings around the city. A crisp breeze ran past the horizon as ominous, dark grey clouds started surrounding the sky. Birds stopped flying and started perching on rooftops, lamp posts or trees. Lightning flashed in the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Rain started to slowly pour, drenching the city in a cold shower.

Sapphire let out a sigh and sat upright on the chair. She took her cup of hot cappuccino on the table to take a gentle sip. She watched Moon take a seat as she placed her bag on her lap. "You want me to order you a drink?" She asked politely while Moon shook her head.

"Besides the nighttime, I also like rainy days. It sounds calming; sans the thunder and lightning, of course." Moon sat up straight, her curious eyes meeting Sapphire's. Her eyebrows furrowed.

It was odd to meet up with Sapphire in Lumiose Café. This café was one of the fanciest cafés around the city. Then again, she mentioned she hated the Cat Café thanks to a certain courier named Sun. He was an annoying employee in her opinion, and it was because of him that she never visited the place. She felt bad for its employees and managers though. That must be the reason why this was the closest place she could meet up with Sapphire from her workplace.

"Anyways, what's with this meetup?" She asked to break the silence.

"I talked to a researcher named Shelly." Sapphire placed her cup down. Her serious sapphire blue orbs were fixed on Moon. "She's from another country, and she said the poor couldn't afford the medicines that their doctors prescribed." She sighed. She felt like she didn't need to explain it further; Moon was smart enough to figure out the rest. The research was a part of her college thesis after all. It was still a classified information until she agreed to share the  _complete_  research to the public. "She planned on sharing it to the public. I told her she couldn't have it unless you agree."

"Sapphire..." Moon coughed, gathering her voice. She bit her lip. "I trust you, but can we trust her that she wouldn't claim the research as her own? I know I'm overthinking this, but we worked so hard to get here."

"I know," Sapphire frowned. She took a deep breath, listening to the natural sounds of the rain mixed with the music in the café. It was a pleasant sound to listen to; it was unique and natural. It was just right to her taste like the beverages they offer. "I am too, honestly."

Moon's eyes were fixed on the table. Thoughts were running in her head, but she decided to ignore it by taking a deep breath slowly. She listened to the music in the café and let it all out, calming herself from her thoughts. She looked at Sapphire. "I guess we're both scared."

Sapphire could only nod at the pharmacist. It was true they did work hard on it. As much as she wanted to help people, it would be risky to just give that study away just like that. One may steal or use it to make money out of it, and she didn't want that to happen. But...maybe she was overthinking. Not everyone could be that bad. There were no such things as bad people, as Sapphire believed. "We don't need to rush it, though."

"Hmm?" Moon returned her gaze at her senior with curious eyes.

"She said she just needed our answer before she leaves which is a week from now."

It was the silence that later greeted their conversation. Heavy splashes of the raindrops were heard, faintly mixing along with the café's music and with the beeps of the vehicles. Faint conversations of the other customers polluted the atmosphere but neither cared, for both were focused on their thoughts; either about how hard they'd worked on the research or the consequences of agreeing or disagreeing with the offer.

The sound of chimes was heard as a customer entered with a cold breeze; the customer shuddered from the sudden chill, but it was countered by the café's warm greeting.

"Bonjour! Welcome to Lumiose Café, sir!"

The customer just nodded, his eyes surveyed the café. He spotted a certain young woman on a table close to the glass wall. Warmth slowly spread from his chest as his lips curved into a smile. He approached the aforementioned young woman, making sure he wouldn't surprise her and her company.

"We worked hard for three years in that research too," Moon continued, reminiscing the memories they've shared while doing that study. Sapphire was a great research partner she could ask for. She was kind, accommodating, sympathetic and just a genius in her own way. Professor Birch would have been proud, and so was she.

Moon stopped as she noticed a certain man approaching them. She just watched him made a hand sign to 'be quiet' while she just stared at him, not caring about his intentions.

"Everything alright, Moon?" Sapphire asked, noticing her friend's daze. She gently waved her hand in front of the pharmacist, but nothing happened; she didn't catch her attention. "Moon?"

"Excuse me, pretty lady," Ruby said, gathering her attention, and sat beside her. "It's been a rainy day." He removed his white beanie, placing it on the table. He nodded at Moon as his way of thanking her.

"Ruby!" Sapphire shrieked. She gently scooted away from him with a blush painted on her cheeks. Her lips curved into a pout as she let out a grumble. She told him to not follow her, and yet, he did. Why did she even bother? She said that she would just be talking to Moon, right? "I told ya to just wait for in our house!"

"Blame the rain." Ruby pointed out, his lips curving into a smirk. He placed his right hand on his cheek, watching the woman he loves rolled her eyes from him with another grunt escaping from her lips. "I was just walking when it started pouring."

"We watched the news last night." Sapphire shot him a glare, her fangs poking from her lips. "It said it may rain in the afternoon and I told ya to bring yer umbrella."

"This is the driest place I could find." He responded, enjoying every second of their bickering. He didn't care if customers were looking at them. All he cared about was how cute she looked whenever they bicker, and she did. The way her cheeks flush and her fangs poked out from her lips were such cute acts that his heart just couldn't stop from pounding. He was happy; he was squealing with joy at how cute she was. If they were alone, he would cry out of happiness from how cute she was.

Sapphire grunted and rolled her eyes. She later fixed it on the cup of cappuccino in front of her. "It's so obvious ya didn't use your umbrella. Ya could have been sick, and...and I hope ya won't." She mumbled the last words.

"Awww," Ruby cooed, his left arm wrapping around her for a side hug. A smile formed on his lips. "You care so much that I couldn't help but smile."

"S-Shut up!" She tried to deny, but she knew it wouldn't do anything.

"Hey!" Ruby threw his arms defensively and chuckled as he smirked. "I was only telling the truth."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but will you two  _please_  quit flirting?"

Ruby and Sapphire stopped bickering only to see Moon with her arms folded across her chest with her face was blank yet irked at once. They scanned the café and saw some customers and employees averted their gazes from them to return to their personal businesses. They gulped.

Right. They forgot that Moon was here and they were in a public place.

Sapphire just continued staring on the cup of cappuccino with a blush sneaking its way on her cheeks while Ruby's eyes started staring on the table. They sighed, embarrassed by their unintentional public bickering.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Moon said with all the sarcasm she could muster and sighed. Her left hand rubbed her head. Now she remembered why Blue told her to not be with Ruby  _and_  Sapphire at the same time or place. "Oh, don't worry, you can continue flirting at home."

Her words did nothing but to make Ruby and Sapphire feel more embarrassed that they refused to look at her in the eye.

Ruby placed his right hand on his mouth, letting out a cough to gather his voice. He sighed. "We weren't flirting." He defended.

"And that side hug isn't platonic." Moon pointed out. She continued to stare blankly at them. She wasn't the type of person to meddle into people's businesses but how often do Ruby and Sapphire have a flirting session like this? From what she experienced, neither started caring about anyone once they started talking. It was like they were in their own, little world and not a single person around them existed. _Typical for couples._  She thought.  _But are they really...?_  She gently shook her head, sighing. She shouldn't intervene. This was between Ruby and Sapphire.

"Hugs are platonic." Ruby tried to defend again while shrugging, but his heart couldn't stop from pounding. He knew Moon was smart and he had to be careful with his words.

"It depends on your intentions." Moon retorted, leaving Ruby speechless. The charmer opened his mouth then closed it immediately.

He was defeated by a child prodigy, and he expected that to happen, honestly. But still, he was amazed she was able to do it in just a few exchanges of words.

"Anyways," Moon stood up from her seat, nodding at Sapphire then glared at Ruby. Ruby's sweat slowly dropped from his forehead. What did he do to make her glare at him? "I'll tell my decision tomorrow, Sapphire." She gently bowed her head. "Thank you."

"See ya, Moon, and thank you." Sapphire smiled and nodded at the pharmacist.

Moon nodded again and let herself out. The café's bell rang as she pushed the door open with its employees bidding farewell to their customer. As she took a step outside, the pharmacist was greeted by a loud thunder and heavy raindrops from the heavens. She sighed, opening her umbrella.

"Hey, miss poison lady!" A boy named Sun called. He was wearing a collared white shirt with black pants and rubber shoes. His lips curved into a smile that imitated a cat's mouth. He threw his hand and waved at her from his truck. "Need a ride home?"

"What are you doing here, courier?" was all Moon could ask with all the irritation she could muster.

"Delivering items, of course!" Sun lifted the box he was holding, showing it to the 'poison woman', his cat-like smile didn't fade.

Moon just grumbled. Of course, that would be the reason. She couldn't believe he was still chasing that one hundred million yen goal after four years.

"Come on! It's free!" Sun told her to tag along with him, but it was obvious he just wanted that courier position in the Berlitz's company. She just sighed as her eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

This was just great; first a flirting Ruby and Sapphire and now Sun. Who or what else would appear to annoy her day?

* * *

 

Minutes passed since Moon left, neither exchange a word nor a glance. Both were too busy with the thoughts running in their heads; the fact that their hearts were pounding loudly did not help either. The Bossa Nova music that was playing on the café's radio was replaced with rock music from the nineties. Customers and employees continued minding their personal businesses as some took glances at the embarrassed couple, whispering and gossiping about them.

Ruby let out a chuckle, standing up, then fixed his clothes. "I'm gonna buy something. Want me to buy you a cheesecake or two?"

Sapphire could only bob her head for a nod. Her fangs poking from her top lip. "And a cinnamon bun too. I'll pay ya once we get home."

Ruby laughed softly, happy from her response. He nodded. "I'll be right back, but seriously, it's on me."

Before Sapphire could disagree, Ruby left and went to the counter. She just sighed, watching the rain pouring around the city.

She may have told Moon about the offer, but she too also needed to think about it. The research made her career life better, and she had to take care of it. At the same time, however, she wanted to help people. Thoughts continued circulating in her head; it was giving her a headache. Should she just give the research to Shelly or be cautious about it like Moon said?

Sapphire snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Ruby's hand squeezing hers. She bit her lip and avoided his gaze.

Ruby could only sigh and placed a kiss on her hand, giving it another soft squeeze. He gave her the cinnamon bun she'd requested along with a spare strawberry cheesecake he bought for her. He watched her slowly grabbed the fork and table then slowly took a slice from the pastry.

A smile appeared on his lips as he released a sigh of relief. At least her sad mood wasn't affecting her appetite, which was good. She needed to eat at least.

A few minutes passed, Sapphire placed the fork and the table knife on the plate then gulped. "I don't know if we should really agree with that offer..." She started and grabbed the lukewarm cup of cappuccino on the table.

Ruby's lips curved into a frown. Oh, so that what was bugging her mind, but how come she was hesitating now? She was happy about it when she told it to him last night. What did Moon say to make her hesitate? "But you'll help people with it."

Sapphire lazily bobbed her head as she slowly took a sip from the coffee. Her lips later curved into a frown. "I'm not sayin' she'll use that research to make money out of it, but I wanna know if what she said was true. I don't wanna end up hurting people..."

"And you won't." Ruby placed his left hand on top of hers, giving it a soft squeeze. He forced himself to smile. Maybe if he'd smile, she would smile. "Don't worry; you're gonna help lots of people. Professor Birch is already proud of you. I'm sure of that."

"Ya think he is?" She bit her lip as her eyebrows furrowed. Curiosity piqued in her eyes, mixing along with the confused and depressed mood in it. Ruby wished her curiosity clouded more than the latter.

"Of course; he's always a proud father." He squeezed her hand before letting to grab a bite on his blueberry cheesecake. He chuckled at how similar the fruit's color with her eyes. He looked at the strawberry cheesecake in front of him and saw the same similarities with his own eyes. His lips smiled at that. Despite their differences, he always thought that he was always incomplete without Sapphire. He just hoped she felt the same.

"Thank ya," She responded and continued finishing her cinnamon bun. The two continued to eat their desserts as the rainwater continued to pour heavily on the city. Lightning later flashed and was followed by a thunderclap.

* * *

 

The Berlitz estate was located on the farthest side of the city, but it despite that, it could be easily noticed. The Berlitz family is a family of researchers and known as the richest family in the world. They provided almost every research or science facility around the globe except for the Devon Corporation. With the heiress of the Berlitz family being friends to what they call 'commoners' in terms of classes, their business was more than just a research facility nowadays. Although they were seen as 'commoners' in a noble person's eyes, to Lady Platinum Berlitz, they were her best friends.

Diamond and Pearl, Lady Platinum's Berlitz's best friends, were simply young men who dreamed of becoming the best comedy duo. According to Lady Platinum, she learned so much from her best friends that she decided to expand her family's business besides having research facilities. Through time, the best friends started a bakery and helped a company called 'BW Agency' fund its project. The Berlitz family's legacy was slowly changing yet improving because of Lady Platinum's new decisions for their business.

The Berlitz estate was as enormous as a soccer field. It was a large two-storey mansion that almost looked like a mall with gardens on the front and backyards. Golden gates surrounded the entire estate along with a twenty-four-hour security system. The structure stood on this very same ground for generations.

"Are you done blabbering about your ' _goal_ '?" Moon emphasized as her arms folded across her chest. Her face fell blank the moment Sun started talking about his dream and the Berlitz family. She frowned and then sighed, adjusting to her right on the seat, and prayed to whatever 'Supreme Being' out there that they would arrive at their destination sooner than expected.

"Yep!" Sun popped the word, slowly pressing on the brakes, and stopped the truck in front of the Berlitz estate. His eyes widened in awe as he looked at the mansion. It was huge! It almost looked like it was a quarter portion of the city!

"Name?"

Sun snapped out from his thoughts, blinking. He looked down and saw one of the security guards glaring at him. A sweat dropped from his forehead. Did he do something wrong?

"It's me!" Moon called out, opening the truck's door. One of the guards saw her and assisted her on going down the truck. She grabbed her umbrella and opened it. "Thanks," She said while the guard nodded. She turned her attention to the other guard who was talking to Sun. "He just took me here."

"I thought President Gladion of the Aether Paradise was your boyfriend?" One of the guards mumbled while Moon shot a glare on him. He shuddered, covering his mouth, and prayed she wouldn't use him as a target for archery practice on the next day.

"You can tell him to leave," Moon said and went inside the estate, leaving Sun to deal with the guards.

"Wait!" Sun called, only to receive another glare from the guard. "You have to give Lady my resume! Come on, miss!"

"You heard her; leave!" The guard focused a gun on the young man while he shuddered, quickly driving away from the Berlitz's estate. There goes his chance of getting a job from the Berlitz's.  _Oh well, maybe next time..._  He thought while crying dramatically.

Moon gave her umbrella to one of the housemaids as she entered the Berlitz mansion. She turned to her left and walked a bit more to reach her room. Once there, she threw her bag on the bed and then herself. A sigh escaped from her lips.

She was glad that was over. She was alright with Sapphire but her and Ruby flirting in front of her? That was definitely  _not_  her cup of tea, and add Sun to the package? Oh boy;  _that_  was stressful. Not to mention that guard talking about Gladion too. She gently shook her head, sat up, and took a deep breath.

She and Gladion were  _just_  research partners; nothing more, nothing less. And Sun was just her colleague. In fact, she found him quite annoying most the time too. A knock on the door broke her deep thought. She stood up and opened it. Her eyes widened in shock.

"M-Milady?"

"Good afternoon, Moon." Lady Platinum greeted, placing her left palm on her chest and bobbed her head for a nod. "May I come in?" She inquired while Moon just nodded and opened the door further to let the heiress of the Berlitz family into her small room.

"I'm sorry my room is a mess, Milady. I'll clean it tomorrow." Moon apologized, taking a seat beside Platinum.

Platinum gently shook her head and patted Moon's shoulder. She smiled. "Oh, do not worry. I will tell the maids to clean it up for you."

"But I'm not even a Berlitz." Moon protested, but Platinum continued to shake her head.

"I consider you as my family the moment you started studying under my father. It is not something you should hesitate about."

Moon just nodded at Platinum. Well, if that's what she thought then she respected it. It was an honour to be Lady Platinum's family, after all.

"Anyway, I am here to ask about your condition." Platinum straightened her posture. She sat like a perfect lady.

Confusion struck on Moon's face. She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"You seemed irked since you came here. Did something happen? I hope you are alright." Platinum frowned slightly. She didn't like to see people in a bad mood. She knew Moon was a serious and a down-to-earth person. She would only be irked if she finds someone or something annoying her and Sun was one of them.

It was the reason why Platinum couldn't accept the young courier's resume; she was worried about Moon's health. Moon may be a patient woman, but she was still a human being with personal limits. She didn't want things to turn out badly if she ever hired Sun; she feared that Moon might use him as a target for archery practice if things went downhill.

"It was just Sun; he's really annoying." Moon stated the obvious while sighing. She had enough of Sun and Gladion was already a tiring to deal with. She needed a vacation from those two boys and maybe spend time with the people who would never irk her like Hau and Lillie.

"I understand," Platinum responded. "We should just drop that subject. How about your talk with Sapphire? Did it go well?"

Moon paused; she couldn't tell if it did go well. It was in the beginning until Ruby appeared and the two started flirting. If he defended they weren't, then she would just rephrase that until he gave up or admit it. It was annoying, really. It was like she didn't even exist in the first place.  _Were they always like that?_  She shook her head, disregarding those thoughts. She had enough of it. She had experienced it once, and she was not going to experience it again. Hell, if they got married then it was more reason for her to not hang out with Sapphire  _when_  Ruby was around.

"You never found senior Sapphire as an annoying person. What is with that face?" Platinum asked, snapping Moon out from her thoughts. The pharmacist blinked.

"No, she never does." Moon clarified, placing her palm on her forehead and slid it down from her face. "Ruby just came and I couldn't believe you were right; they do flirt around each other. I couldn't imagine what sort of flirting they do when they're alone!"

Platinum let out a soft chuckle and patted Moon's shoulder. "At least you are aware now. It is alright."

"Just make sure Ruby is away from Sapphire so I can talk to her in peace. They'll end up flirting if Ruby is there." Moon said, frustration gripping in her tone. She sighed loudly.

"How about we talk about that later after dinner? I will tell Diamond to cook your favourite meal to relieve your stress." Platinum stood up, smiling. She looked at Moon who only nodded in response. It looked like she had lost the energy to ask why her friend was here. Then again, Moon did mention that Diamond's cooking was one of the best. She hoped she could properly talk to Moon later after dinner. "Alright, I will see you later then." She closed the door in Moon's room and walked her way to the kitchen.

Platinum couldn't help but chuckle despite her confusion. She too had also experienced a flirting Ruby and Sapphire, and she swore to herself to always bring a friend or two whenever she was meeting up with Sapphire  _and_  Ruby. They could talk seriously, but Ruby would always end up teasing Sapphire; hence, that's where their playful or flirty bickering would start. Nonetheless, she was happy that her senior Sapphire was living her life to the fullest. She may not be her blood relative but she was happy that she met a nice person like Sapphire.

"Hey, lady, how was Moon?" Diamond asked, standing up.

Platinum smiled at her friend. "First, I am going to help you cook her favorite meal. She seemed stressed."

"Oh," Pearl also stood up from his seat. His right fingers were on his chin. "Looks like we're all going to work together on this meal then?"

Diamond bobbed his head for a nod. A smile perked on his lips. "Yeah!"

"Wonderful!" Platinum clapped her hands, her smile widened. "Let's get started then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **"And that side hug isn't platonic."** is probably my fave line. It's so savage. I literally saved that line and made sure it'll be in the final product. XD
> 
> OwO (honestly, mentioning the story title in this chapter was unexpected so yeah XD)
> 
> Now time to watch some Let's Go let's plays because no Switch ;w;


	4. The Research Accord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really feeling better when I published this, but hey a promise is a promise.
> 
> First of all, a big thank you to IamOneWithTheForce here on FFN for beta reading all of the chapters of this fic. Your help means so much to me and I really owe you! Thank you so much! :D
> 
> And 2nd...uhhh...enjoy chapter 4! ;w;

* * *

The evaporated clouds covered the sky and started pouring. The breeze became gentler and calmer than before, but it was enough to make the clouds slowly drift in the sky. Stars were next to appear on the horizon. Its twinkle was little, but its shine continued to light up brightly and strongly compared to the strong rain. The moon's shadow later lingered in the sky, and it was shaped like a waning crescent moon. Its light was low, but it was enough to provide light for the night.

Moon leaned her back on the chair, watching the moonlight and stars shine down on them. She sighed, taking a sip from her cup of tea.

She was finally calm after all the stress she went through earlier and eventually, have a decent conversation with Lady Platinum Berlitz. She should thank her and her friends for making her feel better. It was the least she could do from the trouble she'd caused.

"There is always a rainbow after a thunderstorm." Platinum started, taking a sip from her chamomile tea. "But in our scenario, it is a peaceful night. It may be a bit wet, but it always felt nice to have one."

"It is," Moon placed her cup down and gently bowed her head. "Thank you, Milady."

"For what?" Platinum asked, cocking a brow. She later placed her cup down as well. "If you are talking about your meal, then it was nothing. It was the least I could do for you. Consider it in return for by making that medicine to cure my pet pony's sprained leg."

Moon just nodded. What else she could say? The Lady did have a point there. That was the time she saw her chance to work under the Berlitz family too, and here she was now talking to the heiress herself.

"Anyway," Platinum straightened her posture, now sitting like a proper lady. To Moon, she is practically perfect in every way. This is what she expected from the heiress of the Berlitz family herself. "I would like to apologize in behalf of senior Sapphire. I too have experienced it. They may be cute together but their flirting is kind of awkward for us outsiders. Senior Emerald is always right about it."

"Oh," Moon threw her hands up in a defensive position, shaking it gently along with her head. "There's no need. I was warned and now I've experienced it, and I never wanted to experience it again. It was annoying." She shrugged. " _Very_  annoying," She muttered under her breath.

Platinum could only giggle. Almost everyone had the same reaction except Blue, Diamond, and Emerald.

Diamond never cared about their flirting and only focused on his food. She never knew why Blue wasn't annoyed, but she had a hunch that she secretly enjoyed it and may or may not have planned on teasing them about it. Emerald's reactions were always exaggerated; he was the number one person she could think of who never enjoyed being alone with her seniors, Ruby and Sapphire, especially if they started flirting.

Platinum took a deep breath, nodding at Moon. "Alright then, if you insist."

"I do, Milady," Moon nodded. "And well," She started, gathering her voice as she listened to the calm night and the cracking noise of the fireplace. She surveyed her surroundings only to realize that there was no light in the room; the stars and the moon provided it. "We only talked about our research."

"Ah, yes," Platinum gently clasped her hands together with a smile. "It was an honour to fund your research. Senior Sapphire always meant well, and I am happy that I could help you two make that research a success. I never doubted you for a second."

"About that..." Moon bit her lip, meeting the heiress's gaze. She sighed and told her the rest of the story as calmly as she could.

Platinum could only nod and continued to drink her tea until she took the last sip. Once she was done, Moon had finished talking. She watched the pharmacist let out a sigh, took a sip from her cup of tea, and sat up straight.

"It's not that I don't trust Devon Corp. but I feel like it's better that you should since we started this research together, and might as well continue with it." Moon clasped her hands together, placing it on her chest. Her heart was pounding excessively.

She just wished President Stone or Lady Platinum wouldn't be mad at her. She wanted to agree, but she didn't quite trust Devon when it comes to funding the project; trusting Platinum with the funds would be the better option.

"I understand that, do not worry." Platinum's smile returned and stood up, adjusting her scarf. "I will fund the project for you two. Surely, President Stone will understand our situation. He is a kind man, after all."

"Thank you, Milady." Moon stood up as well and bowed at the Berlitz heiress. She sighed in relief. She was relieved that Lady Platinum understood her intentions. Now, it's time to tell this to Sapphire first before President Stone and the researcher.

"Now, let us get some sleep. It has been a long day. Goodnight, Moon." Platinum nodded at the pharmacist and turned around, walking her way to her room.

"Good night, Milady." Moon nodded and she too went to her room.

* * *

 

**Devon Corporation**

**Sapphire's Office**

**12:35 PM**

Sapphire placed the chopsticks on the bento as she clutched her hands, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for the meal," She mumbled before throwing the empty plastic bento and used chopsticks in the trash can. She proceeded to drink the cup of blue lemonade on her table. As she finished drinking, a knock was heard on the door. She threw the empty cup of lemonade in the trashcan to open it. Her eyes widened in shock. "Moon?"

She was both happy and surprised to see her young friend. Moon usually go to Devon Corporation on Mondays or Tuesdays so they could share their research together, but today was a Thursday, and she was usually working or taking her lunch break in the Berlitz Research Facility at this time. Why did she go here? Did it mean that she already have an answer to the offer?

"Come in." Sapphire opened the door widely to let her friend in. She closed it and sat on her front desk chair while Moon sat on the visitor's chair.

Moon straightened her posture, looking at Sapphire. Sapphire returned the curious look.

"You want a cheesecake?" Sapphire offered the pastry Ruby bought for her, but Moon shook her head.

"No, thank you," Moon politely declined and bit her lip. She came here to not only tell her answer but to also speak her mind with regards sharing their research. She just hoped she would be able to deliver her message clearly and accurately. She took a deep breath and gulped. She felt her heartbeat pounding loudly like a beating drum. She knew Sapphire was an empathetic person; she would understand her. But how come she was still anxious about it?

Moon tried to think of something positive as her eyes continued surveying her senior's office. Sapphire seemed to be in a good mood, and what's great was that Ruby wasn't around; no one could take Sapphire's attention away.  _Wait, yes! Ruby isn't around! This is perfect!_  She coughed, gathering her voice and sighed.

"I have to tell you something…"

Sapphire's eyebrow arched coupled with curiosity piqued eyes. Whatever it would be, she knew it was something interesting.

* * *

 

"Wait, what?" Ruby stopped eating the pesto pasta dish he had made for Sapphire and looked at her. Confusion was lit up on his face. Did he hear correctly?

Sapphire let out a soft chuckle and grabbed a tissue from the box. She placed it in his hand, and let the charmer remove the excess pasta on his lip. She bobbed her head for a nod as a memory bumped into her head.

It was like when they were six when Ruby had a cookie crumb on his left cheek, and she had to wipe it off for him. She remembered his embarrassed look back then too. He looked so cute at that, and now that they were adults she remembered that memory clearly again as if it happened yesterday. She smiled. He still looked cute despite all these years.

"I thought President Stone was going to fund the project." Ruby placed the tissue beside his plate and grabbed the glass of blue lemonade that Sapphire prepared for them on his left then drank it.

"He will, but Moon said she will agree if Berlitz industries will fund the project. We still have to talk to Shelly about that, though." Sapphire finished, grabbing the glass of juice.

Ruby placed the glass down, smiling. "So you'll compromise with them then?"

"I guess you could say it that way," Sapphire said after finishing her drink. "Moon also mentioned that we should just give Shelly the medicine and sell it in bulk with greatly reduced prices, but I kinda disagreed on that."

Ruby's eyes flicked with curiosity. "How come?"

Sapphire sighed then shrugged. "I don't wanna use this medicine to gain money. I want to help people with it, and if Shelly is interested in learnin' on how we made it, we could always teach her. I like teachin' people."

Ruby's smile returned. He loves how humble and considerate she was with it. Most people would just use their success to gain what they want, but Sapphire chose the right path and dedicate herself in helping people. He really admired that quality of her.

"Anyway," Sapphire stood up and grabbed her and Ruby's plates. Ruby stood up before she grabbed his plate. Their faces were a few centimeters apart once he stood up, and Sapphire blushed at that. She placed her plate on top of his and backed off a bit to give herself some personal space. He always does that and she should have been used to it. She sighed, going to the sink to wash the dishes.

"I'll clean the kitchen for you, don't worry." Ruby grabbed a used cloth to clean the table while Sapphire just nodded, and the two continued to clean the kitchen silently.

Sapphire blamed Ruby for being too close to her. They may be a couple but she still found herself getting flustered from his simple yet intimate gestures. She shook her head, placing the plate in its container. She shouldn't be thinking about that; she should focus on the project since it was also important. She stopped, realizing what she just thought.  _Ugh, dammit. Stop it!_  She bit her lip and took a deep breath. She needed to go to the balcony to clear her mind.

"Everything alright?" Ruby asked and rose an eyebrow. He curiously stared at the conqueror. What was going on in her mind recently? He hoped she isn't stressed. She said she was having fun, right? She said she was enjoying it despite the unwanted attention from the people that were beyond her research. There was nothing else but the medicine...right? "Sapph...?"

Sapphire snapped out from her thoughts. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed some air. "I'll be on the balcony." She said and then left the confused Ruby behind.

Ruby let out a sigh and scratched his head, wondering what has got into her. His fingers trailed around his black hair until it reached the scars on his head. His lips smiled weakly.

He remembered how Sapphire's soft hands touch his scars. She often told him that touching or seeing the scars on his head never gave her a bad memory anymore. Instead, she would just feel thankful that he only got such scars than losing his life. Remembering that always made his heart flutter and gave him enough strength whenever her soft hands touch his rough scars. It was weird that he felt whole whenever she did that, but he was not going to lie that it felt amazing.

He stopped and grabbed his phone, watching Sapphire observe the city night. Her hair was flowing with the cool breeze naturally. He took a deep breath, secretly taking a photo of her. His heart continued to beat faster. She's still beautiful no matter what outfit she would wear or scenery she was into. "Hey," He called.

Sapphire turned around, her hair was still flowing with the cool breeze. The natural moonlight kissed her soft skin. Ruby swore his face was now similar with his eye color just by staring at her. "Hey," She responded and continued to observe the city lights.

Vehicles of all shapes and sizes drove freely on the street as people waited for the stoplight to turn red. She sighed. Her heart pounded from her chest once she felt Ruby's arms around her waist. Her face turned red when she felt his chest on her back.  _Is...he hugging me from behind...in public?_  She thought to herself.

"You seemed stressed.", was all Ruby could say and pressed his soft lips on her hair. Their hearts synchronized for a bit when his soft lips touched her skin.

The breeze felt colder when Ruby removed his arms around her. They may own this condominium unit together, but her personal space still mattered; he must respect it.

"Maybe I am," Sapphire responded, biting her lip. She leaned on the handrails and focused on the busy people on the street. Anything; anything to keep her mind off Ruby.

Ruby bit his lip and breathed. He had to think of something to make her feel less stressed, but what could it be? He could kiss her, but that didn't seem right; it may look like he was taking advantage of her situation. His eyes darted around the city; lights flickered from every building and looking at it just gave him an idea.

"Hey, Sapph?" He called.

Sapphire turned around and saw enthusiasm burning in his eyes.

"Can you help me organize my new photo album? I got the recent ones developed."

Sapphire smiled and giggled. He just knew what she needed to destress herself. "Sure, I would love to!"

"Great," Ruby smiled, offering his hand. "Shall we?"

Sapphire accepted his hand; she could feel how soft yet rough his hand was. It was a weird texture but she thought it was perfect for a man like Ruby. "There better not be a lot of pictures of me; it's embarrasin' to look at them!"

"Aww," Ruby scratched the back of his head with his free hand. An embarrassed blush was tinted on his cheeks. Maybe there was at least one photo of her... "But you look so beautiful in pictures especially if I took your photo. A professional like myself deserves to take pictures of all beautiful things!"

Sapphire cheeks flushed at his blunt compliment. Sometimes, she wondered how he was able to understand her emotions throughout the years since he was terrible at understanding them in the first place.

* * *

 

**Five days after**

**Devon Corporation**

**1:45 PM**

Moon slowly fixed the bowtie on her outfit. All the while, her heart was racing rapidly as her breath was caught in her throat. She found a hard time breathing thanks to her anxiousness. She gulped, holding the complete research document in her arms. She took a glance at Sapphire. She didn't seem nervous. What's her secret?

"We'll be fine, Moon. Don't worry." Sapphire said to ease the young pharmacist's tension.

Moon let out a cough, surprised that the conqueror had read her expression. Though, Sapphire had always been an empathetic person. She shouldn't be too surprised. "I can't help it." She responded with a hoarse voice. "I know Lady Platinum already talked to President Stone, but do we really have to tell him again?"

Sapphire could only nod at Moon as she let out a sigh. She massaged her forehead. Sapphire was being a professional at this point, and she should too despite their large age gap. She graduated as a cum laude in college; ever the more reason for her to be a professional in her field of work. "Right," Moon said, coughing. "I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," Sapphire said, patting her shoulder, reassuring her young friend

A brief silence loomed with only the elevator interrupting them. The doors slid open for the two to step outside.

They were on the fifth floor, which contained a huge lobby with a counter and a door beside it.

Sapphire took a deep breath and squeezed Moon's hand before letting go to proceed. Moon later followed. It was quiet until the receptionist greeted them.

"Professor Sapphire!" She called. Her cheerful voice bounced off the hallways.

"Ehh..." Sapphire raised her left palm dismissively as sweat slowly dropped from her forehead. Sure, she may be a researcher but she was not a professor like her father. "I'm not a professor. Just a researcher."

"But on the top of her career too!" The receptionist responded, only for Moon to let out a sigh. What the receptionist said isn't important for now.

"Is President Stone there?" Moon asked, grabbing her attention. "We have an appointment with him along with a researcher named Shelly." She added.

"Ah, see..." The lady checked her computer, scanning through the day's visitors. "...miss Shelly just arrived and she and Mister Stone are inside his office." She grabbed the telephone to her left and pressed a button. "President Stone," She said, placing the phone close to her ear. "They're here. Should I let them in?"

The lobby was quiet. Moon heard the sound of statics in the phone while Sapphire could only sigh in relief as she heard what the receiver told to the caller. The lady put down the phone and greeted the two researchers with a smile. "President Stone would like to see you now."

Sapphire and Moon just nodded and proceeded to enter the office.

"Are you ready for this?" Moon asked Sapphire as she bit her lip. Her fast heartbeat returned. She knew this door would lead to their research's future.

After years of studying and researching, and weeks of sharing their knowledge on it, they could finally share it to more than just one person. This research was impossible but it was always interesting for her. That's the very reason that lead Moon to help Sapphire in this research, but she was proud to say that Sapphire's intention for the research was more reasonable than her.

Sapphire wanted to help people with it. She knew what it felt like to lose a loved one from a terrible disease, and she didn't want others to feel her pain. It was a generous and kind act, and Moon was proud of her friend for that.

Sapphire bit her lip and nodded. She twisted the doorknob then opened the door, revealing President Stone's office.

President Stone's office was ginormous. It had a large table in the middle with a small counter on its right. The table was made of fiberglass with rare fossils placed under it as a display. Rare stone artifacts were also displayed behind the President's table as books were neatly placed on the left side of the office. Those stones were said to be the ones he collected with his son in their younger years.

The middle table was occupied by the company president himself and a researcher with a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits placed on the table.

The two stopped talking and turned to their right to greet the researchers.

"Why hello, Sapphire! And this is Doctor Moon, right?" Shelly smiled as she nodded at the two.

"Please, take a seat," President Stone stood up and went beside Moon. He offered his hand at her while she just nodded and gave the research files to him. "It must be tiring carrying this copy of the research." He placed it on the counter. "Let's just place it here for a moment while we talk about your future." He went to the table and sat beside Shelly. He poured two cups of tea and gave it to them.

"Thank you,", was all Sapphire could say while Moon just nodded and grabbed the tea on the table.

"It's an honor to meet you, Doctor Moon." Shelly smiled but then frowned. "But I'm sorry I have to drag you out from the Berlitz's today."

Moon gently shook her head, placing her cup of tea on the table. "It's alright. Professor Berlitz understands. Besides, we're also here to tell you something."

"Oh," Shelly lifted an eyebrow. Was it something from the Berlitz's?

"Lady Platinum, the heiress of the Berlitz family, already told President Stone three days ago, and it's time you should know it too." Moon continued then looked at Sapphire, telling her that it was her turn.

Sapphire just nodded, sat up straight, and let out a cough. She didn't understand why she was nervous at this. She had made many impossible things in her career and the medicine was one of them.

She had to agree with Moon's decision, though. Devon Corporation was known for the items that people used in their daily lives while the Berlitz's company wasn't. Devon Corporation didn't support her research because it wasn't something that people use on a daily basis. It would make more sense if the Berlitz's supported the program; they did fund the research in the first place. It was not that she doubted her own company but she wanted this project to go smoothly, and Platinum already agreed that it would be as long as she would provide the money.

"We agree to spread this research further; we wanted to help people. I know what it felt like to lose a loved one from an incurable disease." Sapphire started and bit her lip. She focused her vision on the rare fossils displayed under the fiberglass table.

"You're a strong woman, Sapphire," Shelly said, smiling. "I can tell that Professor Birch is very proud of you."

Sapphire nodded and smiled at the researcher. Despite the warm feeling in her chest, she must remain professional at all costs. "Thank you," She turned around and nodded at Moon. Her lips flashed into a small smile. It was Moon's turn again.

"Besides me and Sapphire reaching an agreement, there was also another contract." Moon continued. She observed Shelly's reactions. She remained curious throughout the short conversation they had so far. "This is our first...my first research project. It is also my thesis when I was in college. We agree, but in return, the Berlitz will fund the project. Like I said earlier, Lady Platinum already told this to President Stone last week."

"And I do agree," President Stone said, smiling. "The Berlitz's are the richest family in the world. They can fund this project with a snap of their fingers." He chuckled.

Shelly placed her cup of tea on the table as her eyes lit up with happiness as she placed her palms on her mouth, covering it. She took a deep breath to regain her senses and sat up straight. "My deepest gratitude to all of you. You all made me and my country happy. We owe you so much."

"There's no need." Sapphire stood up. Her bubbly aura returned as she reached her hand to Shelly. Her lips beamed into a grin. "We wanna help and acceptin' our help was the biggest favor we could ask for!"

Shelly stood up from her seat and accepted Sapphire's hand. Moon also stood up to shake her hand too.

President Stone watched the two researchers shook hands with Shelly as a smile perked on his lips. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was happy that their future for this project was brighter than the sun's rays. He couldn't wait to announce this good news to the public.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> President Stone's office was just his office in the ORAS games with bookshelves. XD
> 
> Yes, "with a snap of a fingers" thingy is an Infinity War reference. ;-; (AVENGERS: ENDGAME TRAILER DESTROYED ME AAAAAAA)
> 
> And the title is also an MCU reference...specifically from Captain America: Civil War.
> 
> And yeah, it's not yet Christmas but Merry Christmas! I do have some other side projects one-shots on the works so I guess that's where the proper Christmas greeting will go. No? Oh well ^^'
> 
> Thank you again to IamOneWithTheForce for beta reading. I really appreciate it ;w;
> 
> Also, I just started ko-fi (I'm cap_cavern there) and yeah...if you just wanna support my dying wallet. If you don't then it's okay. I too want to support my favourite artists and artist friends but dollars are just expensive. Although I'm still doubting if I do have the rights to make a ko-fi page so yeah ^^'
> 
> Chapter 5 will be out in January 2019...damn time is fast sdfdskf


	5. A Small Celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! It's back to work, haha... *cries*
> 
> Okay, I admit I'm not focusing on this fic that much since I'm working on a new multichap fic (no surprise that it's still franticshipping) but I promise to finish this. You have my word. Well, if you're interested, I'll finish this, hehe ^^'
> 
> Many thanks to IAmOneWithTheForce from FFN for beta reading!

* * *

**Later that afternoon**

**Devon Corporation**

**Sapphire's office**

**4:50 PM**

Sapphire closed the door behind her and leaned on it. She let out a sigh as her heartbeat returned to its normal pace. It was a relief that she still managed to act professionally despite her anxiety, and at the same time, she couldn't believe that she also washed Moon's insecurities away. She guessed she really came a long way from where she was now. Her phone suddenly vibrated, snapping her out from her thoughts. She picked it up and opened the text message.

_**From Ruby:**_   _How did it go? Did it go well?_

_Yeah!_ She responded through a text. Her eyes blinked slightly when she received his response moments after her message was sent.

_**From Ruby:**_   _Great! Come home early. We have to celebrate!_

Sapphire could only chuckle at his response; he sounded more excited than she was. Now that she'd thought about it, Ruby is  _very_ supportive in her decisions and it's normal for him to support her. He's always been her supporter since they were kids and she was happy to have it.

Although, she still thought it was too early to celebrate her research's success. They had only made a deal with Shelly and the project hadn't even started; they were just at the tip of the iceberg. She bit her lip, shaking her head. No, she knew Ruby meant well. Whatever celebration he had planned is his way of saying he was proud of her, and she appreciated it; she couldn't wait to go home.

"Sapphire," Moon started, grabbing her bag from the couch. This was bugging her all day and she needed to let it out.

"I know you trust your boss, and all, but..." Moon breathed gently. "Is it really wise to leave our research file there? You know I couldn't bring this up since I don't want to look like that I have trust issues with President Stone, but we couldn't just let anyone get their hands on it whether that someone is our boss or just a random researcher." She sighed, biting her lip. She may have said too much, but Sapphire did tell her that she was always free to speak her mind. Was she even doing the right thing or she just had trust issues with anyone who isn't her research partner?

"I understand, but even if he did try to read our research, he wouldn't understand it," Sapphire responded, her gaze was fixed on her phone. "I'm sure our research paper will be safe in his office. It will only stay there for only a day, after all. Besides, I couldn't wait to get this project started. The sooner we start, the more people we could help."

"You...did have a point..." Moon reluctantly agreed, sighing. "Anyway, do you want to have dinner together, Sapphire?" She looked at her friend, only to find out that her head was focused on her phone. "Sapphire?" She asked again, hoping to grab her friend's attention.

"Huh?" Sapphire looked at Moon. Her eyes were piquing with curiosity. Did Moon say something else?

"Dinner," Moon repeated. What made Sapphire lose her focus? She had a feeling that Sapphire was texting Ruby and she didn't know why that's the first thing that came into her mind.

"Oh," Sapphire threw her arms. A sweat dropped from her forehead. She had to admit that she wasn't paying attention to her friend; she was busy talking to Ruby.

"So...will you?" Moon asked, hoping Sapphire would agree. They did have a good reason to eat dinner together. "I didn't have anyone to eat dinner with."

"I'm really sorry, Moon." Sapphire clasped her hands together, making a prayer gesture. She gently bowed at her friend. "I have to go home early."

"Oh," Moon responded. She couldn't believe that she had to eat dinner alone again.

"Maybe it's time for you to accept Gladion's offer?" Sapphire suggested, locking her office door. She placed the key in her satchel. "He  _was_  askin' you to have dinner with him for months."

Hearing Gladion's name made Moon roll her eyes from her friend. She sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "I'd rather have dinner with Lillie."

"True, but..." Sapphire placed a red cap on her head. She placed a hand on Moon's shoulder. "Lillie is Gladion's younger sister. You will have dinner with him sooner or later." She stated the obvious, making Moon sigh. "I have to go. See ya soon!" She bid farewell then ran straight to the train station.

Moon just bit her lip. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and sweat dripped from her forehead once she read a text message. It was from Gladion and he was asking her to have dinner with him. Did Sapphire know about this or was it just her strong intuition?

_**From Gladion:**_   _Let's have dinner together. I'm on my way to Devon Corp. Lady Berlitz said you're there._

Moon responded to his text message and went to the lobby to wait for Gladion. It looked like she had no choice but to have dinner with him. Why did he even want to have dinner with her in the first place?

* * *

 

Sapphire pressed the doorbell. She grabbed a handkerchief and wiped off the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Once the door was unlocked and opened, she was greeted by the smell of melted cheese and tomato sauce. Wait...was Ruby cooking? But why? He could have ordered some pizza, pasta, donuts or anything, really, instead of cooking their meal all by himself.

"Hey," Ruby greeted. A smile flashed on his face as he closed the door.

Sapphire placed her red cap on the hat stand. Her nose scrunched when she stood beside him. She loved the smell of food lingering in the air but she hated that she had to smell Ruby's sweat too. How long was he cooking? She just hoped he didn't skip work just to prepare their meal. "Ya need to take a shower. You smell really bad." She pinched her nose and placed her handkerchief in his hand.

Ruby just chuckled. He wiped the sweat from his forehead using her handkerchief. "Says the girl who climbs trees when we were young."

"You do know that I was just takin' that poor baby bird back to its nest!" Sapphire defended. She folded her arms across her chest as a pout appeared on her lips.

Ruby's chuckle converted into laughter. He smiled and leaned forward, burying his nose in her hair. It smelled like sweat and strawberries; he loved it.

"W-What are ya doin'?!" Sapphire backed off from him. A blush painted on her cheeks. "J-Just go and get a shower!" She placed her hands behind his back and pushed him to their bedroom.

Before Ruby could response, she shut the door on his face. He chuckled then let out a sigh. She looked so cute when she withdrew from him. He didn't know why he was in the mood to tease her but he enjoyed every second of it. "The lasagna is cooked! Just take it out from the oven!" He called from the door.

"I will if ya take a shower!" Sapphire responded.

"Yes, I'm heading to the bathroom!"

"You better," She muttered. Although she knew he would never not take a shower, she was still irked from his behavior earlier. Why did he need to place his nose in her hair? She shook her head; she knew the answer. He just wanted to hug her and as much as she wanted to, he smelled terrible and she couldn't bear to hug him like that. She was still a girl, after all. She may not be a clean freak like him but she was decent enough to not accept a hug from his current state.

A grumble escaped on Sapphire's lips as she placed the oven gloves in her hands. She went to open the oven door and took out a tray of lasagna. The scent was enough to calm her down. Maybe she was overreacting earlier? She knew Ruby loved to tease her about their childhood days, but still...why did she often fall for it? She knew arguing with him would just cause him to tease her more. (Although she had to admit that he looked cute when that annoying smirk appeared on his lips.) Ruby was lucky enough that she hadn't punched him yet. She bit her lip, shaking her head, and placed the oven gloves back on its container.

Well, she supposed making her favorite pasta dish was enough to forgive him. She sighed and sat down. Her eyes widened when she saw him going out of their room, shirtless. She opted to not say a word about it. Instead, she just turned her attention to the pasta dish with a blush painted on her cheeks. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless; she was just uncomfortable to see him like that. She didn't know if he did this on purpose or just forgot that he wasn't alone in this condo unit.

Ruby didn't notice Sapphire's blush. He just put on a plain V-Neck blue t-shirt and approached her silently. It was unfashionable in his taste, but he wasn't going outside for an appointment so he could wear any plain clothes he wants. "How'd you like my version of your favorite dish?" He smiled and placed a slice of Spinach Lasagna on her plate. "I'm not a good cook like your aunt, but I hope I managed to imitate her recipe."

Sapphire placed her fork down. She grabbed a glass of water on her left. She smiled. "It's good, don't worry."

"I'm glad you like it." He smiled and continued eating.

Sapphire swore she had seen a tint of excitement in his eyes. It was enough to make her smile widen. "But you know you could have bought some food instead of going through all that trouble cooking..." She bit her lip and her smile vanished. She appreciated his efforts but he didn't need to try so hard to please her.

"It's the least I could do for you. Besides, you should expect more celebrations like this one as your project continues." His eyes softened as his smile widened, making her giggle. It was music in his ears.

"I'm guessin' that ya have dessert ready too?"

"Yep!" Ruby popped the word and grabbed their empty plates. He placed them in the kitchen sink. "Just wait for me in the living room, alright? I'll take care of the dishes." He said, winking at her.

Sapphire could only bob her head for a nod as she silently went to the living room. That wink; he never did that to anyone—only to her. She knew this because he had mentioned it in his sleep. She still remembered that time where she slept so late at night because of the number of paper works she had to finish that she'd caught him sleep talking. The first word that came out from his mouth was her name and she blushed at that. She couldn't believe that even in his dreams, he was still thinking about her. She didn't know why, but she appreciated it. Frankly, he was in her dreams too.

"Hey, Sapph," Ruby sat beside her on the couch. He placed his left arm around her shoulder. To his surprise, Sapphire didn't slap nor remove his arm from her. Instead, she just leaned on his chest with her eyes closed. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a liter of pistachio ice cream placed on the desk. "Y-Ya didn't have to..." She mumbled, still surprised that he managed to buy  _that_ brand of ice cream. It was an expensive brand and the only time she'd tasted it was when she had dinner in Platinum's mansion.

"I grabbed a few extra money from dad." He admitted and gave her a spoon. He grabbed the ice cream and placed it on his lap.

"Tell him I said 'thanks'," She mumbled, grabbing a spoonful of ice cream. She smiled once the ice cream entered her mouth. It had the right amount of sweetness and creaminess, just like the first time she had tasted it. The pistachio flavor was perfectly blended. "It's still really good."

"It is and you're right; this is the best ice cream brand." Ruby chuckled and grabbed another spoonful of ice cream.

"I hope this isn't the last time I would taste this."

"Well, there's always next time."

"Don't," Sapphire looked at him. A pout curved on her lips. "I need to buy this using my own money."

"I'm sure you wouldn't be spoiled if I kept on buying you this." Ruby smiled and tucked a loose hair behind her ear.

Sapphire bit her lip and returned her attention on the ice cream. She took another spoonful, hoping to cool her blushing cheeks. His face was too close and she just wondered why she didn't move away from him the moment he'd sat beside her.  _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Anyway, I'm sorry about earlier," Ruby spoke after a moment of silence. His eyes watched the night sky. Stars twinkled as clouds drifted on the horizon, the moon was shining brightly behind the clouds and the faint honking of vehicles was heard from their condo unit.

Sapphire's lips curved into a smile and elbowed his chest. Ruby winced from her inhuman strength while Sapphire just mumbled a 'sorry'. She sighed and leaned her head on his chest. It was the only way she could think of to ease his pain. "I know, but...hey," She took a deep breath while Ruby's gaze was now fixed on her. "I know you mean well. Your teasin' does help me relieve some stress."

"Really?" Ruby asked, his tone was full of curiosity.

"Not all the time, silly."

"Oh," Ruby's shoulders dropped. He frowned when Sapphire removed her head on his chest.

"I can't believe it." Sapphire placed her phone in front of Ruby's face. After several seconds, she removed it and placed it on the table. She bit her lip. "They didn't have to..."

"It's their way of thanking you." He smiled, grabbing her hand. "Congrats. I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you, but this is too much."

"Hey, it's alright. It's their choice, after all."

"You're right about that," She mumbled and stood up. "Anyway," She grabbed his hands. "Let's get some sleep."

Ruby just smiled, accepting her hand to stand up. Both went to their bedroom hand in hand as the city night noises continued to linger around the condominium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm a huge deliveryshipping fan and I promise there will be more Sun and Moon interactions because I love them so much.
> 
> Okay, not much happened besides Moon telling her concerns. My main goal for this chapter is to...well, maybe breathe after all the news and crap. So...yeah. I'll update the next chapter early. Somewhere in the 3rd week of January. ;w;


	6. Mishaps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I got good news! I commissioned my friend, irokonn, to draw a scene from this fic. She hasn't posted it yet but I'll tell if she did. Follow her on twitter (irokonn)! It's based from chapter 4, haha. And well, the commission is 1000% worth it. uwu
> 
> **(Also, if someone reposted my commission, TAKE IT DOWN OR PAY HALF THE PRICE. I paid for that art and reposters reposting it is just annoying. US Dollars are expensive here so pay up if you see people repost the art. I'm sorry if I sound rude but reposting art is bad. Reposting fics is bad.)**  
> 
> Many thanks to IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading!

* * *

"Umm, excuse me, senior?"

Sapphire stopped looking on the pc monitor. She then swirled her chair to her left to look at her intern. "What is it, Trevor?"

A young, thin boy in his late teens gulped as a nervous smile curved on his lips. He was wearing a white collared shirt under a lab coat, charcoal pants with lime green lace-up shoes, and an intern's ID worn around his neck. He also had a rounded orange hair with grey eyes. "President Stone said he would like to see you in his office."

"Oh," Sapphire stood up from her seat. She set aside the papers on her desk. "Will you be alright on your own?"

Trevor slowly bobbed his head for a nod. "I-I'll be alright, senior."

"I'll be back soon." Sapphire patted his shoulder and went outside to her office.

Trevor just sighed, sitting on the visitor's chair. His eyes widened from shock as he dropped his head, pitying himself. "I forgot to give X's letter again..." He mumbled. "Well, maybe next time..."

* * *

 

"President Stone?" The receptionist called said through the phone. "Miss Sapphire is here!" She announced, receiving the President's response immediately. She nodded and placed the phone down. "They're ready to see you."

Sapphire just nodded and proceeded to the door. She took a deep breath and opened it.

President Stone and Shelly stopped talking and looked at the young researcher. They both smiled. "Ah, Sapphire," President Stone called. "Sit with us."

Sapphire held her breath and sat a few spaces beside Shelly. She watched her boss pour tea in his cup. "Good morning," She mumbled and received her own cup of tea.

"I know you're supposed to come here later at three, but I have something else planned." President Stone started. He smiled after handling Shelly's cup of tea. "You see, Shelly will leave tomorrow so that means she needs to take a copy of your research files and we'll let you decide if you want to lend her the original copy or not."

Sapphire slowly bobbed her head and looked into her cup of tea. It did make sense; she was one of the researchers behind that cure. Moon only agreed to bring the original copy of the file because they didn't have time to make a separate copy. They were both became busy with their work outside of their study after their agreement days ago.

"And I was thinking if we should have a group photo as well," Shelly added with a smile. "The group photo will commemorate the project's beginning and future success."

President Stone let out a laugh. "That's a good idea. Sapphire will hold the research paper while we're having a group photo!"

"I think Moon should be with the group photo," Sapphire added while mumbling. Shelly and President Stone looked at her. She swallowed hard. "I-I mean…my partner and I worked on this research for years and it'll be best to have her here with us."

"I understand your concern, Sapphire." President Stone placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling. "I told my secretary to contact your research partner earlier, but she said her line was busy. We'll credit her, don't worry."

"Oh," was all Sapphire could say. Her hands were gripping her pants. It made sense if the President's secretary couldn't contact them. Today is a Wednesday and Wednesdays are often a busy day in the Berlitz Research Facility.

"Pardon me, President Stone." Shelly intervened. "Where is the research file, I may ask?" She asked and scanned the President's office.

President Stone suggested leaving the research file in his office since Sapphire would just end up carrying that big book again and take it here. Sapphire didn't seem to hesitate from her boss's offer so she immediately agreed to just leave the research file here. The three researchers did nothing but to talk about the study yesterday while looking at the records placed in the papers. And now a day had passed, Shelly needed to see the files again. She had to get her hands on it to start the project she'd been dreaming of.

"Ah," President Stone stood up from his seat. He approached a small office table on the farthest right side of the room. He grabbed a green-colored book and handed it over to Shelly. "It should be that book."

"Thank you," Shelly grabbed the book and started scribbling on the pages. Her eyebrows creased. "President Stone?"

"Yes, Miss Shelly?" He asked, standing beside her.

"Is this the right research paper?"

President Stone furrowed his eyebrows. He looked at the paper as his sweat dripped from his forehead. He laughed. "Silly old me. I must have mixed it with my son's research paper. He's really fascinated with rocks."

"This is a good research paper, though," Shelly added. "Your son sounds like a smart person."

President Stone grabbed the research paper and placed it on his desk. He smiled. "He sure is. Too bad he doesn't have a girlfriend yet. I would like to have a grandchild or two one day." He laughed while looking for Sapphire's research paper on his desk. "I'm getting older, unfortunately. I tend to forget a lot of stuff recently. Now, where did I put that research paper?" He searched around his table but saw no research file. His heart thumped. Anxiety flowed in his veins. In his old age, memory problems weren't such a big thing. He just hoped it didn't affect an important research file.

"I couldn't find it." He finally spoke after a moment of silence.

All eyes around the room widened in shock. Shelly stood up from her seat. She looked around the office, hoping the files were misplaced in one of the bookshelves. "It must be misplaced in the bookshelf." She approached one bookshelf and started looking for a green-colored book but saw none. She went to look in another bookshelf, but she still couldn't find it. She bit her lip. Her heart thumped wildly. This is bad; this is worse than bad.

"I'll just call my janitor. He must have misplaced the book somewhere." President Stone sighed, folding his arms across his chest. It didn't help his fast-paced heartbeat, however. "I swear we've all seen the research file in here yesterday."

"We did," Sapphire spoke, biting her lip. She looked at her phone, hoping to receive a text message from Moon, but saw none. She could only conclude that her research partner was still busy. She took a deep breath. She then went to look at her empty cup of tea. Her heart started pounding anxiously.

She couldn't understand why she was nervous. Her boss just said he probably misplaced her research paper. Certainly, it wouldn't be missing...right? She shook her head. It was  _her_  decision to leave the papers in this office. Moon already told her about her concerns yesterday and all she did was to defend her boss by saying that she trusted him. She should have been a bit more selfish and not leave the research file in her boss's office. She should have listened to Moon. She bit her lip and gripped her phone. She swore she could crush her phone at any moment.

"What are we going to do?" Shelly sat on the couch. Her left hand massaging her forehead.

Sapphire held her breath, snapping out from her thoughts. She didn't have time to sulk in a corner and blame herself. She had to think of an alternative.

"I'm calling Danny. I assure you that I must have misplaced it." President Stone placed the phone down. He gently bowed at the researchers. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't blame yourself, sir," Sapphire spoke and stood up. "Shelly," She looked at the older researcher. "If it means anything, I can give you the soft copy of the file. I just need a spare flash drive so we can transfer it there."

"You're a lifesaver!" Shelly stood up from her seat. Her heartbeat returned to normal. "Please, lead the way. I have a spare flash drive with me, don't worry."

Sapphire just nodded. She looked at her boss. "We have to excuse ourselves, sir."

"Alright, go ahead." President Stone nodded. "In the meantime, I'll keep on looking on the research file. I know it's around here somewhere."

"Thank you, sir," Sapphire said. "Let's go."

Before Sapphire could open the door, however, the lights went off.

"Why are the lights off?!" President Stone yelled. He tried grabbing the phone on his desk, but it was no use. He couldn't find it in the dark.

Sapphire could only grumble and opened the door; she didn't have time to panic. But why was she in a hurry? If the lights in her boss's office went off, then it meant that the entire building was experiencing a blackout. She bit her lip. Now what? She didn't bring her laptop with her since she did all her work in her office desktop. How could she transfer the files to Shelly if the power was down?

"Does this happen often?" Shelly asked.

"This blackout is rare." The receptionist said.

Sapphire blinked her eyes when she saw a light coming towards her. She stepped aside and let the receptionist approach their boss.

"Sir, I'm afraid that there's some technical difficulty in the maintenance. They said they're fixing it but the emergency power will be on at any moment."

"Tell them to fix it soon. I couldn't see a thing."

"Follow me." Sapphire opted to leave her boss's office with Shelly behind her. She used the stairs to go to her office. She stopped on her tracks when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She was hoping it was Moon, but it was Ruby's message instead.

 _ **From Ruby:**_   _Everything alright? I can see it from here that the lights in Devon's building are off._

 _Yeah, I'm fine. I told you to not pick me up today._  Sapphire responded and continued walking down the stairs.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Shelly asked, making Sapphire stop on her tracks. She was thankful that the lights were off or else the blush on her cheeks would approve Shelly's question.

"H-He's...uh..." Sapphire tried to defend but stopped when Ruby responded to her message.

 _**From Ruby:** _ _I want to pick you up. I'll be there soon. Don't panic._

Sapphire just grumbled and returned her phone in her pocket. She just continued walking and chose to not answer Shelly's question.

* * *

 

Ruby dropped his phone in his pocket and proceeded walking towards Devon Corporation's building. He knew Sapphire wouldn't panic, but he had to be sure. He still remembered Sapphire freaking out whenever there was a blackout. She may have sharp eyesight but she would always grab the nearest thing beside her and hold it tightly until she had calm down. There was one time when they were eighteen, there was a blackout in their university and they were studying in their isolated place in the library. Sapphire didn't shriek or yell, but instead, she grabbed his right arm and held it tightly for several seconds until she had calm down.

That scenario was a decade ago. He knew she wouldn't do the exact, same thing, but there was still a part of her that would often surprise her when a blackout occurred. And he hoped she was alright.

"Hold it!" A security guard blocked him. "Devon Corp. currently has a blackout due to technical problems in the maintenance room. I'm afraid you'll have to visit the company some other time."

"I'm here to visit someone. Her name is Sapphire Birch," Ruby spoke.

The guard furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed the police radio phone in his belt. After a few minutes, he returned the radio in his belt and looked at Ruby. "Just wait in the lobby, sir."

Ruby wasted no time and went inside the building. He opted to not follow the guard's instructions, however. He needed to see if Sapphire was alright. He had a bad feeling about this blackout. He sighed once he saw her. "There you are."

"Ruby?" Sapphire asked, stopping on her tracks.

Shelly opted to take a step back, giving them some space. "I think it's best if I should wait here."

Sapphire looked at Shelly then at Ruby. She sighed. "I'm going to my office. I need to check on something there."

"I'm going too," Ruby said and followed Sapphire. "Are you alright, though?"

"I don't know," Sapphire spoke, biting her lip. "A lot has happened."

"I'm here to listen."

Sapphire stopped on her tracks. She looked at Ruby. "Well..."

Before Sapphire could continue, they heard a young intern in the office screaming "I'm dead!" at the top of his lungs. Alerted, they entered the office and saw Trevor freaking out over the office pc with some papers scattered around the area. Sapphire took a deep breath and slowly approached the young man.

"Trevor? What happened?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. She waited for the young intern to calm down by taking deep breaths.

Trevor crouched down and started grabbing the scattered papers on the floor. "I don't know." He mumbled. "Ever since the emergency power went on, the pc has been acting haywire. I didn't even get to save the file..."

"Don't worry about it. The files don't matter for now." Sapphire reassured and looked at the desktop's monitor. White backgrounds with rainbow hues had been glitching on it along with some static spots. She sighed, turning off the pc. If only she had brought her laptop today. Her office computer wouldn't seem to work for now and she needed it along with her intern. Not to mention that Shelly needed to copy their research file today...

" _ **Attention all employees,"**_  President Stone's receptionist announced in the small box-shaped television in Sapphire's office. All attentions were at the television screen now. It showed a receptionist holding a piece of paper with a worried expression in her face. She continued. " _ **I have bad news. Besides the technical difficulty the building is experiencing, a research file had been stolen and we have four suspects. President Stone will drop a letter at your office today so please, stay in your positions so this wouldn't turn into gossip. Thank you for your cooperation."**_

"UGH!" Sapphire screamed, punching a nearby wall while creating a crack on it. Ruby and Trevor looked at her worriedly. She didn't care how unprofessional that was; the research that she had been working on for freaking  _years_  was just stolen like that, and there was nothing she could do about it. She at least has a right to act like this.

 _Dang it._ Sapphire plopped on her office chair and placed a palm on her forehead, rubbing it. Her heart couldn't stop from beating wildly due to the events that happened today and from the immense anxiety she was feeling. She took a deep breath and straightened her posture as she closed her eyes. She hoped this breathing exercise would help her but she felt like it was highly unlikely. She may look calm on the outside, but mentally, her brain just blew a gasket. Today was definitely stressful. She couldn't believe their research would just slip away.

She couldn't imagine what would Moon react from this. That discovery was part of her thesis in college, and now that someone stole it, it felt like all their hard work had gone down the drain. On second thought, it did. She blamed herself for not listening to Moon. She was too kind to agree with the project and now someone stole it from them. What's worse was the one who stole it was her co-worker. Now how would she apologize to Moon?

"I'm...sorry..." Trevor mumbled, his eyes were fixed on the floor. His senior didn't deserve this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I got good news! I commissioned my friend, irokonn, to draw a scene from this fic. She hasn't posted it yet but I'll tell if she did. Follow her on twitter (irokonn)! It's based from chapter 4, haha. And well, the commission is 1000% worth it despite it's not yet done. uwu
> 
> (Also, if someone reposted my commission, TAKE IT DOWN OR PAY HALF THE PRICE. I paid for that art and reposters reposting it is just annoying. US Dollars are expensive here so pay up if you see people repost the art. I'm sorry if I sound rude but reposting art is bad. Reposting fics is bad.)
> 
> Many thanks to IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading!


	7. Suspected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got nothing to say but many thanks to IamOneWithTheForce for beta reading!

Ruby gritted his teeth as pound his right fist on the wall. He bit his lip, clenched his teeth then took a deep breath.

Why did this happen? Why would someone steal Sapphire's research?

He had seen every good and bad effects Sapphire's research did to her and most importantly, he knew how much she worked hard on it. She had a mental breakdown, lost proper sleep and got sick along the way.

He couldn't believe that her research could easily be stolen just like that.  _Whoever they are, they're gonna pay._  He thought as he sighed, grabbing his phone. He knows better than to meddle with Devon's business. But in his mind, he's got to do this; he must do this: for Sapphire and for justice.

He stopped scrolling down on his phone once he found a certain number. He clicked the call button and waited for the person to answer the call. "I'll be using the bathroom."

"But the receptionist said we should all standby." Trevor debated as he stood up.

Sapphire was silent for the past ten minutes; no one could talk to her properly, not even Ruby. All she did was to stare blankly at the desktop monitor while nodding lazily at their questions. Trevor seriously doubted that she even actually heard what they were saying. He felt Ruby's rage when he saw him move away from Sapphire to smack his fist on the wall. He could only watch Ruby approach Sapphire again as he wrapped his hands around Sapphire's, and kissed it while begging her to tell him what was wrong. He was starting to wonder what kind of relationship Ruby and Sapphire had. He could tell it was more than friendship just by observing it.

Trevor could only shake his head. He shouldn't be that curious about his senior's love life.

"I don't work here," Ruby responded, opening the door. "Take care of her for me, Trevor. I'll be right back."

Before Trevor could respond, Ruby shut the door. Trevor just sighed and turned to look at his senior as he frowned. He felt really bad for Sapphire and wished he could do something about it.

"Don't listen to him," Sapphire mumbled, turning her back on Trevor. She sighed with a pout on her lips. Ruby didn't need to tell that to Trevor; she could take care of herself.

"Wait, why?" Trevor asked but only to receive a grumble from Sapphire. He scratched his head while sighing. Based on Ruby's state, he was mad and pissed, and he couldn't just decline his request. He had to take care of Sapphire for him. It was the least he could do. He took a deep breath. "S-Sapphire…" He called, making Sapphire grunt as a response. Well, at least she wasn't responding silently. "I-I'm your intern, a-and whether mister Ruby said that I should take care of you o-or not,"

Sapphire listened to her intern silently. Despite her sharp hearing, she needed to at least understand what he was saying. Sure, it was unprofessional of her to act like this, but who wouldn't be surprised, confused and annoyed when their work was stolen by one's co-worker? She worked for years in that research; she had the right to be mad about what happened, at least.

"I will take care of you." Trevor continued, taking a deep breath. "You accepted my internship application despite my experiences. You know you could have any intern because I already worked under Professor Sycamore but you still chose me. Y-You helped...you helped my friend, X, a lot of times and I owe you for that. X is alive thanks to you..."

"X deserves to live," Sapphire mumbled, a small smile crept on her lips. She remembered how she managed to stop the boy's suicide attempt months ago. It was surprising and emotional at once, but it was worth it; X is alive and that's what mattered. She knew that boy could defeat depression. She believed in him like her father did, and she would continue to look after X not because he was her father's student, but because she had seen his potential. And she would help him shape that potential and use it into something good. "I can only hope he realized that now..."

Trevor just nodded, smiling. "Oh, and speaking of X..." He grabbed a letter in his lab coat and placed it on the table. He took a step back and stood up straight. "He wanted you to have that."

Sapphire turned around and grabbed the small, white envelope in front of her. She set it aside, hoping to read it when she had calmed down. "Thank you," She mumbled before turning her back from her intern to stare at her office's bookshelf. That was very nice of X to write her a letter.

The door opened after several minutes of silence. Ruby went inside the room along with President Stone. Sapphire stood up straight and looked at her boss. She buried her hands in her lab coat's pockets to clench her fists.

"You're gonna have to go with me, Sapphire." President Stone said then left Sapphire's office.

An awkward silence emerged around the atmosphere. It was interrupted when Sapphire let out a sigh to follow her boss. Ruby gently held her left arm to stop her from walking. Sapphire stopped to face Ruby. Her eyes wore nothing but severe seriousness.

"I'll have to go with you," Ruby spoke after a moment of staring. He let go of his hand on hers and stood up straight.

"No, you can't go with me. This is Devon Corp's problems, Ruby. You aren't even an employee here." Sapphire bit her lip and avoided his gaze. She turned around but Ruby placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her. Her heart raced when his face was a few inches away from hers.  _This is definitely not the time, Ruby..._

"Your problem is my problem. I'm here to help." Ruby sighed, leaning his forehead on hers. He removed his hands on her shoulders and placed it around her waist. He hesitated, but he knew she needed someone to comfort her. It may not help much but he had to try.  _Please don't punch me for this, Sapph._

With his breath held, he pulled her closer for a hug. He turned his face to his left to plant a kiss on her cheeks. He could tell that she was anxious based on her fast heartbeat. Their heartbeats would usually synchronize whenever they were this close, but hers was faster than his and he could tell that the stolen research made her anxious. He sighed, pulling her closer. She didn't deserve this.

Trevor just stood in his position and watched Sapphire return the hug. He smiled weakly. It was admiring to see someone like Ruby this dedicated to his partner. Maybe they were more than friends but were just quiet about it.

"I'll just update you." Sapphire held his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. She sighed before letting go to leave the two men alone in her office.

Ruby let out a sigh and sat on the chair. He placed his left hand on his forehead. "It's not that I don't trust her, but I'm really worried about her." He mumbled, rubbing his forehead. He needed to know who those suspects were. He needed to know  _now_.

"I...I know a place," Trevor spoke after a moment of silence.

Ruby looked at him, piquing interest from his words. He arched an eyebrow. "Where?"

"It's gonna be a bit dirty there, though," Trevor warned.

Ruby just stood up from his seat and clenched his phone tightly. He didn't need to hesitate on this one. If it meant that he could help Sapphire, then so be it. "I don't care."

Trevor bobbed his head for a nod. Determination struck in his eyes. He was also ready to help his senior. "Follow me."

* * *

 

Ruby expected that they would go in such dirty places like a vent, but it turned out it wasn't.

They were in the deepest parts of Devon Corp.'s library and unlike any libraries, it wasn't the neatest room. There were old books messily placed on the bookshelves or on the floor, either containing lost or fragmented pages, and broken chairs scattered around. He wondered why such an abandoned place like this existed and as he thought about it further, he could only think of two conclusions: either this place was forgotten to be cleaned or this place was already abandoned.

Though the history of this room wasn't necessary for now. If this is the so-called 'secret place' Trevor was talking about, then he didn't care if spider webs or dust would get onto his clothes. The only thing that mattered now is knowing the suspects, and one of them is going to pay.

"We're here," Trevor whispered. Both stopped on their tracks.

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows.  _Why here?_  He asked himself. They were both facing a wall and he couldn't tell if the wall was made from concrete or plywood. But he could see faint lights coming out from its edges. He felt a cool breeze of an air-con running past those edges. He sighed. "Where are we, exactly?" He whispered.

Trevor placed his index finger on his lips then shushed him. "We're behind President Stone's office. I discovered this when I entered the wrong library last month. This place was open for employees who want to read old files of the company, but not many come here. From what I've observed, I'm the only person who goes here. Sometimes, I can clearly hear the President's voice and that made me conclude that this wall in front of us was made from plywood and not concrete."

"So if they renovate this place, it will affect the President's office." Ruby continued while Trevor just nodded.

"We should just sit and listen…or stand since all of the chairs here dusty."

Ruby nodded and focused on the wall in front of him. He was born ready to help her solve this case.

* * *

 

President Stone let out a sigh, clasping his hands together. He strictly eyed each suspect carefully. One of them shuddered in fear while the rest just stood up straight, acting professionally despite their nervousness. He sighed and stood up from his seat. "I called the four of you today because you were the last people who went into my office, and have no relation in yesterday's' events."

The four suspects swallowed hard. Sweat trailed down from their foreheads. They swore they didn't steal the file and why is it so fast to have such suspects like them? Sometimes, the President had his own ways that the new employees couldn't understand.  _It's probably from his old age,_  they guessed.

"Danny," President Stone looked at the janitor. He slowly scanned at him from head to toe.

Danny shuddered in fear but did his best to keep his straight posture. He forced himself to look into the President's eyes.

"You were the very last person who went to my office. You were also the one who closed my office. Your job is simple: you're my janitor and you just came here yesterday to clean my office."

"A-And that's all I did, s-sir..." Danny bit his lip and stopped once he saw the president raised his fist. "I-I'm sorry..." But he swore he didn't take such files.

"Terry," President Stone looked at the man who seemed to be in his forties. He had a clean-cut hair with a short beard. He looked into the President's eyes. "You're a researcher who just proposed your new idea. I agreed but told you to work on a few things. I still couldn't believe you could possibly steal a very important file."

Terry just nodded and bit his lip. He didn't steal the documents; he promised he didn't.

"Professor Cozmo," President Stone looked at the man in his fifties. He had a curly hairstyle with large glasses. "I just hope you didn't steal the research."

Professor Cozmo swallowed hard as beads of sweat continued to roll down from his forehead. Yes, it's been an honor to work with President Stone, but he swore to the heavenly bodies that he didn't steal such research. He knew Sapphire would believe he didn't.

"Lastly, and I cannot believe you're one of the suspects..." President Stone returned on his chair. He intertwined his fingers together. "My receptionist."

The receptionist's eyes widened from shock. She turned around. "B-But sir, I didn't."

"You're one of the suspects." President Stone finished and made himself comfortable around his seat. "I'll give you twenty-four hours to confess your crime. Those files are very important. Don't make me fire all of you. Dismiss."

Silence surrounded the president's office. All hearts were pounding from the tenseness they were feeling. Slowly, each suspect left the office silently with thoughts jumbling in their head but they knew they would never steal such papers. They may have seen the file somewhere in this office yesterday but they didn't take interest in it, for they know it was important.

On the other side of the wall, Ruby's fists were shaking as he gritted his teeth. He later bit his lip, hoping to stop it from quivering. His face darkened. He didn't care about those four suspects. All he cared about was which one of them stole the files. They would feel his wrath. They would regret stealing Sapphire's work. They would regret making Sapphire worry. "Let's go back to Sapphire's office."

"R-Right," Trevor swallowed hard, leading the way. He took a glance at the charmer as sweat fell from his cheek. He didn't like Ruby's aura; it was beyond intimidating. Nonetheless, he continued to understand how important Sapphire was to Ruby. "This way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The usual: next chapter is in 3 weeks but since this is really short, it's coming out in 2 weeks so around February 28, 2019.


	8. The 'Suspect'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late Pokemon day and HOLY CRAP I'M HYPED FOR POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA -finds money in my very thin wallet then cries-
> 
> Thank so much for IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading! :D

* * *

**A day had passed**

**Devon Corporation**

**1:45 PM**

Silence greeted the office. Only one's faint breathing could be heard. In the company president's office stood four suspects while Sapphire stood on the side. All were anxious about the next outcome and were hoping they weren't guilty, but they knew one of them would be. They were already sorry to whom will the suspect be and hoped for a better future for them.

"My friend," President Stone glared at the man in front of him. He took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. He eyed the professor from head to toe.

Professor Cozmo felt a chin ran through his spine. He had a bad feeling about this.

"You're fired."

Everyone in the office was shocked, but all tried their best to remain silent. Breaths were held. Hearts were racing. Minds were full of questions. Why would Professor Cozmo steal the research? What proof did President Stone have?

Professor Cozmo tried to speak but chose to close his mouth and let out a sigh. He nodded, giving in. He couldn't recall taking something that wasn't his from this office, and as much as he wanted to defend himself, it's best that he shouldn't. At least, not in this situation. He needed to be alone with his friend first.

"Wait for me in your office before you leave the company." President Stone stood up and grabbed a book from the shelf. He scanned each page until he saw a bookmark attached to it. He stopped to read the book. "Dismissed."

"President Stone," Sapphire approached her boss, her heart raced in her chest. No, she couldn't. She wouldn't. She knew Professor Cozmo wouldn't steal it. No one in this company would dare to steal her research, and if that research really was gone, then she had proof that she and Moon discovered that medicine together. They have their signatures and license numbers on the paper. Plus, she had a soft copy of the file which she gave to Shelly earlier this morning. They just needed to find out who stole the files and then this would all be finished. But who could it be? She had no clue on who stole it. "I need to have a word with you."

President Stone raised his hand and placed the book on the desk. He closed it and looked at the young researcher. "Maybe later, Sapphire. In the meantime, go and rest in your office."

Sapphire let out a sigh then nodded. She reluctantly left the office with her hands crammed in her lab coat's pockets. As she walked her way to her office, she bumped into someone. She took a step back and shook her head, regaining her consciousness. She saw a hand reaching out for her and she accepted it. Then and there, she knew to whom that hand belonged to. Her eyes widened from surprise. "Ruby?"

Sapphire observed him from head to toe. Why did he have spider webs on his left shoulder? And why did he smell like dust? She grabbed her handkerchief to cover her nose to prevent herself from sneezing. Where did he go to? She told him to stay in her office if he didn't plan on going to work today.

"Sorry about that," Ruby squeezed her hand, smiling weakly. "Let's head to your office."

"I see Trevor is behind ya." Sapphire rose an eyebrow at her intern, only for the young man to wave at his senior with a nervous grin on his face while sweating madly.

"We'll...talk about that later," Ruby explained while Sapphire just sighed as the three went to her office.

* * *

Sapphire locked her office door before facing the two men in front of her. She bit her lip as she watched Ruby removed the spider webs on his shoulder with a tissue paper. She could tell he was controlling himself to not freak out from the dirt around his shirt. She could see it in his eyes as well. Oh, she could predict... _no_ , she  _knew_  he would tell her that he would just go to the comfort room to change his clothes at any moment now.

"Hold on," Ruby let out a sigh and grabbed his bag. "I'll be changing my clothes. I'll be back."

Sapphire couldn't help but to roll her eyes from him. She expected something like this would happen and she wasn't surprised; however, this was her office and that meant she is the boss around here. It was not that she was abusing her 'power' but she needed to know why both of them were covered in dust bunnies. "Maybe later, Ruby." She spoke, making him stop on his tracks.

"Then I'll just change here then." Ruby didn't hesitate. He removed his shirt in front of Sapphire while Trevor's sweat just dropped in a comical way. Was he really that desperate to change his clothes?

Trevor felt something intimidating in the atmosphere. Before he knew it, Sapphire shrieked at Ruby, causing him to cover his ears.

"Ugh, Ruby, would ya please put on a shirt!" Sapphire turned her back from Ruby with her face flushed. She folded her arms across her chest. He never changed.

"I am, okay?" Ruby defended, fixing his black t-shirt. He sighed before placing his palm on her shoulder. "I'm wearing a shirt now."

Sapphire grunted then turned around to face him. She pouted, but proceeded to the task at hand. Besides, she could deal with this later. For now, she needed to know what they were doing outside her office. "I don't have time for this, Ruby, just please tell me why you and Trevor were out of my office when I told ya to stay in here."

"I wanted to know who the suspect was." Ruby shrugged, looking at her. Worry and relief engulfed in his eyes. Knowing she was safe after everything that had happened was all that mattered to him.

"I told ya that I'll update ya." Sapphire bit her lip and avoided her gaze from him. Didn't he trust her? She had told him everything last night; she didn't skip anything. She took a deep breath and took a glance at Ruby. She could see a hint of anger from his eyes, but to whom? Was it for the suspect?  _Of course it was…I'm so stupid._  She sighed. "I have to tell President Stone that Professor Cozmo didn't steal the data."

"Sapphire," Ruby grabbed her hand, squeezing it. He looked at her with sympathy forming in his eyes. He was begging her to let him tag along this time. She had to remember that her problem was his problem, after all. They made through her depressive journey together, and it was time to do the same thing in her stolen research.

"Fine," Sapphire said after a moment of silence. She bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows. Just as she expected. It was not that she didn't appreciate it, but he could focus on other things instead of this. His work was just as important as her study.

Ruby bit his lip then nodded. He held her hand tightly, and gave it another soft squeeze. He was ready to help her in any way he could. He would do anything for her.

* * *

The aura around the President's office was always warm and cheerful. It didn't feel like an office whenever an employee or a visitor would enter. In fact, one could consider it as a friend's room. But since yesterday's incident, things had changed. The aura now felt cold as if it was a prison. It was the center of a crime scene, so there was no need to further investigate why it felt like this.

As Sapphire went into the room, she swallowed hard. Her heart was thumping wildly. She had never felt this nervous before, and she didn't understand why she was scared. Maybe she was frightened because her opinion about Professor Cozmo was different from the President's or everyone else in the company? She didn't see how the other employees treated Professor Cozmo when he left. She didn't even see the professor once he left their boss' office. All she heard from Trevor was the President talked with the professor before he grabbed his things and left the company for good.

Sapphire felt bad for the professor. He was her father's friend and he helped her found a job here. It didn't seem right for her to see him guilty for stealing her work just like that. She knew he didn't rob it. It must have been a mistake, and she hoped it was. They stopped on their tracks and stood a few feet away from the President's desk.

They watched President Stone closed the book he was reading with a sigh as he gently eyed the young couple in front of him.

First and foremost, he didn't understand why Ruby was here. Yes, he is Norman's son, but he didn't work here nor have any businesses with his company. The boy is always here because of one person, and that person is Sapphire. He didn't care about their relationship, let alone them being an official couple. He just wanted to get this talk done. He sighed again, watching Sapphire clutched her hands together with a bitten lip. With a wave of his right hand, he gestured her to start.

Sapphire dropped her arms and took a deep breath. Her boss needed to know her opinion about this mess. "Professor Cozmo didn't deserve it, sir."

"He was found guilty as proven by my office's CCTV camera." President Stone argued, frowning.

"I understand that, sir, but let me see the CCTV records. This is my work, and I know I'm gonna sound rude here but this incident doesn't have anything to do with you." Sapphire replied, trying to sound polite as much as possible, then took a glance at Ruby. She saw a hint of determination in his eyes and that was enough to give her courage. "If you let me see the footage, then I will stop."

"Sapphire," President Stone said gently.

Ruby clenched his fists. He hated it when a boss didn't listen to his employees, and this scenario reminded him of how he was fired from his old workplace. He hoped and prayed the same thing wouldn't happen to Sapphire. He swore it could never happen to her. She was too good at her job to get fired that easily.

"The CCTV camera is there as proof. It isn't lying. I'm helping you on this and you actually owe me for finding the crook easily."

Sapphire's fists clenched so hard that her knuckles turned white. Why couldn't he just show it to them?

"With all due respect, sir," Ruby intervened, putting a hand on Sapphire's shoulder to calm her down, doing his best to sound calm and cool. "Sapphire had a good reason why Professor Cozmo didn't steal the research. You should at least give the professor another chance."

"He's been working in the company for years, sir," Sapphire added, a newfound determination struck her heart. She owed Ruby for that. "I really don't think he stole it. I believe it was just misplaced and we can find it."

"My words are final. I don't tolerate thieves in my company, be it a veteran or not." President Stone said in a strict tone. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. He had proof and he believed that. CCTV cameras don't lie and his was always gave crisp and clear footages. "Professor Cozmo is guilty of stealing your research."

"But—"

"Dismissed." President Stone waved his hand telling Sapphire to stop. He returned to read the book on his desk.

Sapphire growled menacingly under her breath and grabbed Ruby's hand. They both left the company president alone with his book. One thing was bugging in Sapphire's mind, though. If President Stone already had proof, then there was no need to call four people as the suspects, right? She needed to talk to Professor Cozmo about this. He needed to know her opinion.

"You alright?" Ruby squeezed her hand, making her stop on her tracks.

She turned around and focused her gaze on the floor, thinking. She knew Professor Cozmo didn't deserve this. "Just thinkin'."

"I know you're doing the right thing," Ruby mumbled, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. He kissed her hand and then her forehead. "I'll help you on this, don't worry."

"Thank you," Sapphire said, smiling weakly, her anger slowly dying down. She had to go to the professor's place tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, oh crap this was...short. Remember when I said that a lot has changed since my irl friend helped me in my writing? Yeah writing short but concise chapters was one of it. I'm supposed to have an exam this March but since it's another short chapter, the next chapter will be in 2 weeks. Somewhere around Thursday (March 14), so yeah... ^^'
> 
> Anyway, I hope things are starting to make sense here! I know I somehow lost interest in this fic since I have a new project on the works but hey, progress. I did write this during my worst times (and I still have a lot of worse times but not complaining, just got used to it). I should stop rambling. Thanks for reading and to those who dropped a comment/review/kudo/fave/follow, thank you as well!


	9. A Call For Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said Thursday but yeah here is chapter 9 two days early because B2W2 hype! ovo
> 
> Many thanks to IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading! :D

* * *

**A day had passed**

**Hoenn Home Condominiums**

**9:30 AM**

"I have to go to Professor Cozmo's place today."

Ruby stopped looking at his phone, shifting his gaze at her. His eyes blinked. Questions wondered in his head, but somehow he had expected she would say that sooner or later. He just didn't expect she would be  _this_  desperate, though.

"It only happened yesterday," He placed his phone on the table to hold her hand, then looked into her eyes. All he could see was guilt forming in it, and it did nothing but to break his heart. He just wished he could fix this instantly; it's affecting her negatively. "Like President Stone said: you needed a rest, and he gave you permission to do so."

Silence fell. Their breathings were heard within it, along with the footsteps from the condominium's hallway.

Sapphire took a deep breath then let it all out, gently shaking her head. She squeezed his hands. "I can't. I'm sorry."

Ruby lowered his head and brought her hands up. He stopped but his emotions got the best of him, and kissed the back of her hands slowly and passionately. He wanted to cry. He wanted to tell her to stop thinking about this for once and get some rest, but she was stubborn. She cared for Professor Cozmo more than her own health, and he wished she could just balance it.

He didn't know the professor that well, but if he did, he would probably and hopefully say the same thing. He didn't want to see her go through another depressive episode.

There was something funny about this situation, though; she was as stubborn as he was. But he had to admit that he cared for her more than anyone and anything else. "Please, I know you care about the professor, but your health mattered most."

"Ya can't even focus on your job well." Sapphire snapped. She bit her lip, realizing what she just said, and averted her gaze from him. She had noticed he was paying less attention to his job and more on her. But why? He worked so hard to get there. He was doing so well at his job too. Why lose his focus now? "I'm sorry." She mumbled, squeezing his hand.

Ruby just sighed and tightened their hands together. He knew she didn't mean it, but if he could repeat this again, then he had to. At least, he wanted her to understand why he was doing this. "I love you, Sapphire. I'm doing this for you whether you like it or not, and..." He gritted his teeth, hesitating if he would continue. He felt like he had said enough. It was too much for her to bear this. She had so many things in her hands and his feelings for her wasn't one of it.  _Dammit._ _I really am an idiot._

Sapphire shut her eyes and bit her lip. With another soft squeeze from his hand, she let go and stood up. She went to approach the door.

Ruby followed. He stood as well and held her right arm. Before Sapphire could protest, he pressed his soft lips against hers then pulled away after several seconds. His head continued to stare on the floor. It felt great to feel her soft lips on his, but a second was enough; two was too much. "I'll let you, but please, take care. Contact me when you're at the professor's house."

Sapphire just nodded and wore a red cap on her head. She hesitated at first, but she took a step closer to kiss his cheek. She bit her lip then left him alone in their home. Thoughts were running in her head along with her heartbeat increasing its pace. She sighed.

Why did he have to confess at a time like this?

He often confessed to her in unnecessary times like this one. Then again, she had never confessed to him despite their relationship status, and he deserved one. In her defense, however, she first thought that her intimate gestures were enough, but it wasn't. She also needed to  _communicate_ with him. But alas, she couldn't; not yet. She had to fix this mess first.  _I'm sorry, Ruby, but please...wait a little more._

* * *

 

Once Sapphire left, Ruby clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, as thoughts recurred in his head. He was so stupid for confessing at a wrong time  _again_! He should have thought this logically instead of acting based on his emotions.  _Dammit!_

His phone then rang, snapping him out of it. Ruby perked up then grabbed his phone to answer the call.

" _Meet me at Lumiose café."_  was all the caller said and ended the call. Ruby just sighed. He didn't even give him time to reply.

* * *

 

It wasn't an ordinary day at Lumiose café. Customers of all shapes, sizes, genders, and races were scattered around either having a nice talk with their friends or acquaintances, or just enjoying the café's relaxing environment.

Ruby took a deep breath, as he looked for a certain person in the café. He later spotted a young man wearing a fedora and retro square sunglasses. The young man seemed to be busy reading the morning news, but Ruby didn't hesitate to approach him. With a held breath, he sat in front of him.

"Took you a while," Rakutsu said and closed the newspaper he was reading. He set it aside on the table, but didn't remove his fedora nor his sunglasses.

"I'm sorry?" Ruby asked, catching his breath. He didn't even give him some time to respond when he called, so of course, it would take him a while to get here, but that didn't matter for now. What would they talk about is more important.

"I'm a very busy man, Ruby." Rakutsu crossed his arms on his chest and rose an eyebrow. He wasn't surprised why he called him when it came to investigations; he  _is_  the top police officer of the Interpol despite his young age. Sure, he had more important stuff to do than Devon's mess, but he was doing this for a reason.

"I know," Ruby answered, eying the younger man. He always wore the same facial expressions and he was starting to wonder why a girl named Faitsu from an anti-government team called 'Team Plasma' fell for a guy like him, but that wasn't the reason why he called him. "But you're the best man I know for this job. How much do you need?"

Rakutsu raised his hand then frowned. "I don't care about money. All I care is why do you have to meddle in Devon's personal problems. It's you against a big company."

"Someone stole Sapphire and Moon's research," Ruby said, biting his lip. His eyebrows creased. His fists were clenched. "And that person needed to be brought into justice. They should rot in jail for what they did."

Rakutsu almost fell on his chair. He leaned his back on it and massaged his forehead. "Don't tell me you're doing this because you love her and wanted her safe."

Ruby was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to respond, but words didn't come out from it. Instead, he let out a sigh. His heartbeat went fast. How did he know? And if that was his reason, what could he do to stop him?

"Ruby," Rakutsu called while Ruby just bit his lip and nodded. He placed his arms on the table. "Think about this: don't you think Devon already got this covered? It's a big company and when it has problems, it doesn't say anything to the public because they wanted to keep that problem to themselves. Think carefully about this just for once."

"Think  _carefully_? I don't have time for that!" Ruby snapped with his teeth gritted. He could tell this is what his heart was trying to convey, but his mind was thinking of an alternative. He chose to ignore what his mind was trying to say and decided to do what he felt doing. "That person needs to be caught!"

Rakutsu furrowed his eyebrows. He was stubborn like Sapphire, and it looked like there was nothing he could do but to give in at this point. "Alright, alright." Despite the attention that Ruby caused, his face remained stoic. "Tell me everything, but keep your tone down. You're making people look at you."

Ruby's stare at the police officer became serious. And if Rakutsu could judge, it reminded him of Norman's stare.  _Like father, like son. What a great resemblance._

Ruby didn't hesitate and told the police officer everything he knew about the case. Starting from the researcher's project and up to the recent events, he didn't skip a thing. Once he ended his story, he ordered a cup of latté while he let Rakutsu think and absorb everything he had said. When he returned, the police officer was writing notes on his notebook.

Rakutsu raised an eyebrow and closed his notebook. "I have to take notes."

"I can see that." Ruby sat down and took a sip from his cup of latté.

"If you don't mind, I'll be taking Detective Looker with me to do this job."

"Do what you want. I just—"

"I know." Rakutsu intervened. He raised his hand as a small smile perked on his lips. "We'll start tomorrow night. I have to report this to Detective Looker, oh, and tell this to Blue. She may appear at any time today. I saved you a call from her since she caught me earlier. Besides, she knows how a thief thinks and acts; she'll be a huge help in this case." He placed the notebook in his coat's pocket and stood up.

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked, his eyes widened in shock. He didn't think about Blue. He had almost forgotten that she sometimes works at the Interpol and used to be partners with Rakutsu. Now what should he do? "What should I tell her?"

Rakutsu turned around and adjusted his hat. "Tell her what you told me. It may get you out of trouble. Don't blame me on this. She went to the Interpol earlier which explained why she was coming. Anyway, I'll update you through text messages or phone calls. Until then, see you around." He waved his hand then left Ruby to finish his cup of coffee.

Ruby remained on his seat for thirty minutes; he was puzzled with thoughts filling his mind and anxiety clouding his eyes and his heart. If Blue would arrive, then how could he explain himself? He only told Rakutsu what his heart was telling. He sighed once a certain young woman in her thirties took a seat in front of him, and meet his gaze. She arrived just like Rakutsu said.

"Start talking, Ruby." Blue placed her cup of coffee on the table. She placed her hat on the table and set it aside and eyed her young friend.

Ruby let out a sigh and nodded. "Alright,"

* * *

 

Sapphire had no clue to where the professor lived. She didn't have his number either, so sending him a text message was impossible. She could contact him through his social media accounts, but Professor Cozmo wasn't an active person in it and she preferred to say this personally.

She was left with no choice; she had to ask her boss about it.

President Stone cocked an eyebrow. "Sapphire? What are you doing here? You know I won't deduct your salary, since I gave you my permission to take the day off."

Sapphire didn't reply. She just gulped to swallow the lump in her throat and released the breath she was holding. "I know, sir, but this is important. I need to ask ya something." She finished while biting her lip.

President Stone was curious. "What is it, then?"

"Can I have Professor Cozmo's address?" She asked and President Stone just blinked.

"May I ask why do you need it?"

It was odd that her boss was asking why, but she opted to answer his question nonetheless. "I just need to talk to the professor personally."

His eyes wandered around his office, but he slowly gave in and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. "Alright."

"Thank you, sir," Sapphire said while bowing.

It felt weird that her boss seemed to be reluctant in giving the address despite her good intention, but Sapphire chose to brush it off. What mattered most was that she finally got the professor's address.

It took five train stations and a fifteen-minute walk from Devon, but it was all worth it.

Once she reached the professor's house, she stopped and looked at the paper again, re-checking the address and once it matched, she pressed the doorbell. She waited for a minute until a lady, about the same age as Professor Cozmo, opened the door and greeted her with a smile.

Sapphire didn't know that the professor was living with someone, but it was good that he wasn't alone. Living with someone you love and care did have its perks.

"Come in, dear." The lady opened the door widely to let Sapphire in.

Sapphire thanked the lady and gently bowed at her with her hands clasped together. "I'm here for Professor Cozmo. May I speak to him?"

"He's in the kitchen." The lady closed the door and the young researcher followed her.

Sapphire was relieved to see the professor in good condition. Physically, he seemed fine, but mentally, she was hoping he would be when she told him the truth.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while." The lady told Sapphire and went to the living room.

Sapphire took a deep breath and approached the professor. Footsteps echoed the small kitchen, as she sat in front of him. She looked at him with guilt-ridden eyes. "Professor," She called, but received no response or an eye contact. "It's me, S-Sapphire. I came here...alone t-to tell ya somethin'." She finished only for the professor to bob his head dully.

Professor Cozmo was in no shape nor mood to talk to anyone. After his talk with his old friend and boss, he couldn't seem to process everything that had happened. It was still replaying in his mind over and over again. He just wished he could tell his wife about this or to anyone, but he couldn't bring himself to even utter a word about it. He was a coward; he let his fear defeat him and it continued to do so.

"I know you didn't steal it," Sapphire said slowly, and the professor finally piqued interest in her words. At least, she didn't think he was a thief. "I know you would never do such a thing, and that's why I came here for. I came all the way to tell you that I believe you didn't steal anything from me. I know I could just get your email or phone number, but I chose to go here myself so I could tell you this. Please, hear me out. You're no thief. You're a good person."

There was a long silence looming in the area. Passing trains and the loud voices from the television were heard in the background, along with a crackle of thunder.

Professor Cozmo didn't speak; he remained quiet on his seat. Thoughts were rushing in his mind. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. He was thankful that Sapphire didn't see him as the criminal. But he couldn't just sit on this chair and remained quiet. He tried to open his mouth to speak but no words came out. He shuddered, remembering the threat that was thrown at him. Of course. He couldn't speak because he was scared of its consequences. What should he do? What  _could_ he do? He wanted to help but if he started talking, things might end up with him terribly.

Sapphire bit her lip and stood up. Her phone vibrated. She looked to see who texted her, which turned out to be Ruby.

_**From Ruby:** _ _I'm sorry about earlier. I'll make it up to you. I'll be waiting for you at Mossdeep station._

Sapphire just let out a sigh and replied to his text message. He didn't need to apologize for anything, really. She knew he just wanted to help, but it did feel nice to hear his confession again. Now she just needed to gather enough courage to tell her feelings for him. It would be, soon, but she didn't know when. "I'll be going, professor. I'll give you my phone number if you wanted to talk to me again." She bowed and placed a piece of paper in the professor's hands.

Professor Cozmo didn't budge. He looked at his hand and gripped it.

"It's just my father's old number, don't worry."

It was a miracle that Professor Cozmo managed to nod at her. He watched Sapphire bid farewell to his wife then left the house.

Sapphire held her breath as she continued to walk to the street to reach the train station. Her mind was just focused on one question: what should she do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my friend, Ash, since she loves Lack-Two a lot! owo
> 
> And yeah Rakutsu = Lack-Two 'cause...uhh I have this long time headcanon that Lack-Two isn't even his real name along with Whi-Two's name. They can be called Whitley and Blake too but I think their Japanese names sound cooler in my opinion. ^^' Again, this is just my headcanon so I can be wrong!
> 
> Next chapter will be two weeks from now, since this seems a bit short too...


	10. A Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading!

* * *

"Milady," Moon called, gently knocking on the door. She took a deep breath and placed a hand on her chest. She watched Lady Platinum closed the book she was reading to let her come in.

"Yes, Moon?" Platinum asked with a raised eyebrow. She sat up straight and watched Moon sat on the chair beside her. Judging by her looks, she seemed troubled. What made her be like that in the first place? She hoped it was nothing serious.

"Sapphire requested if she could talk to us later this afternoon."

"Oh," Platinum spoke, surprised from the conqueror's request. Questions started lingering in her head. She remembered something. She, too, wanted to have a nice chat with her senior Sapphire again. She hoped whatever talk they would have would bear good news. "At what time?"

Moon bit her lip, taking a glance at her phone. No new notifications were popping out just yet. Sapphire must be still typing. "She hasn't responded yet."

"Then tell her she could go anytime. I will just be here in the library."

Moon bobbed her head for a nod and did exactly what the Lady requested. She sent a text message to Sapphire and at the same time, her message appeared, saying that she would be there around one in the afternoon.

* * *

 

"I'll be going to the Berlitz mansion today," Sapphire announced while adjusting the red cap on her head. She rose an eyebrow and poked her head from the wall behind her. She looked at Ruby with eyes curiously piquing its attention on his phone. He'd been using it all day, and if it meant that's from his work, then she's happy that at least he was still working even though he wasn't leaving the house today. She watched him stop using his phone to look at her.

"Take care." He said, smiling.

Sapphire just nodded and went outside. She wondered why Ruby hadn't insisted to go with her, but she shook her head at that. She could talk to him later about it and she promised she would tell him about her conversation with Moon and Platinum; he wouldn't miss out anything. He would be stressing himself if she wouldn't tell him, and she didn't want that.

After grabbing a taxi, she told its driver to take her to the Berlitz Mansion. The driver was shocked at first, but he wasn't the type of person to meddle into people's businesses. With a nod, he safely drove from Hoenn Homes Condominium up to the desired destination.

* * *

 

**Berlitz Estate**

**Berlitz Mansion**

**1:30 PM**

It wasn't difficult for Sapphire to get into the Berlitz's mansion; she  _is_  Moon and Platinum's friend, and she is also the daughter of the late Professor Birch. Her father did work with Professor Yanase Berlitz one time, and she and Platinum were already acquainted in such a young age. As expected, her father's reason to work with the Berlitz's was research as her father was known to be the best field researcher until his death.

Sapphire and Platinum have a great friendship throughout the years. Despite being opposites, as she was raised as a country girl while Platinum was raised like a princess, both considered each other as their friend. Sapphire had close female friends like Blue, Crystal, and Yellow, but Platinum was the closest female friend she had. It was not only because they were acquainted as children, but they both grew to be good friends with each other. And she was happy and honored to be friends with such a refined person like Platinum.

The drive from her home to the mansion was quiet. The only thing accompanying Sapphire and the taxi driver was music of various bands from the nineties. When the cab arrived, two guards blocked them from going further. It was easy getting past them, since the guards knew she was coming. The guards let the taxi in, but strictly told the driver to stop at the main building before leaving the mansion immediately.

Acknowledging the guards' wishes, the driver smoothly did as he was told then left. Sapphire wondered why he didn't charge her anything and it turned out that Platinum already paid for her ride since they arrived. She sighed, knocking on the door. She told Platinum that she could take care of her expenses but did she really had to pay her travel fees? She had enough money for it.

She snapped out from her trance when a butler around his late sixties greeted her with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sapphire. Lady Platinum is in the library. I'll lead you there."

She returned the gesture, as the butler bowed at her and further opened the door to let her in.

She is always stunned by its unique architecture every time she paid a visit here. A large, expensive chandelier was placed on top, the welcome hall was almost the size of a ballroom, and stairs with silver handrails were placed in the middle of the hall. She took a deep breath and removed her red cap, silently following Sebastian.

They stopped in front of a white door and Sebastian knocked on it three times before opening it. It revealed Platinum reading a book and Moon was sitting beside her with a laptop placed on her lap. There was a pot of tea and two plates of pastries placed on the table.

"Lady Platinum," Sebastian called, gathering her attention. "Miss Sapphire has arrived."

"Ah," Platinum closed her book and stood up to welcome Sapphire. "Thank you, Sebastian. You may return to your duties."

Sebastian nodded then bowed at the heiress. He watched Sapphire get inside the library before closing the door.

"Senior Sapphire," Platinum approached her older friend and gave her a warm embrace. Sapphire just smiled, accepting it. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"You too, Platinum." Sapphire smiled and the two sat on the chair. Moon closed her laptop and set it aside.

"It's nice to see you again, Sapphire." Moon smiled as she watched Platinum pour three cups of tea. She gently handed them their own cup gracefully.

"You too, Moon." Sapphire's smile widened and accepted the cup of tea. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrant smell of the jasmine tea. It made her heartbeat return to its normal pace. Teas certainly have its way to make her calm down.

"What brings you here, senior?" Platinum asked and sat up straight. She eyed her senior with a smile. They haven't seen each other for a while. She believed it was a month or two, but nonetheless, she was here now and that's what mattered. Seeing one's friend after a while was enough to lift her mood.

Sapphire finished her cup of tea and placed it on the table. Her palms were on her lap, gripping the fabric of her jeans. Her eyes scrutinized the two ladies before letting out a sigh to ease her mind. She knew they wouldn't like what she was about to say, but she hoped they would at least understand the situation. "It's about the research..."

"What about it?" Moon asked gently. Sapphire did mention in her previous messages that they needed to talk about their research. She didn't know what it was since Sapphire hadn't respond.

Sapphire took a deep breath, calming herself. It was true that she did send a text message to Moon days ago but hadn't told her what really happened. She's frightened to tell Moon the truth, which is why she opted to go to the Berlitz Mansion herself to tell everything. And maybe, just maybe, would have the courage to tell it. "I..." She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at her hand. It was now or never. "I'm...I'm sorry, b-but our research was stolen."

There was an eerie quietness around the library. Chirping birds were heard as a cold breeze blew them away.

Platinum managed to keep her poise and sat up straight, but her hands were covering her gasping mouth. She couldn't believe it. Devon Corporation is a good company and it was unbelievable that such a terrible thing happened.  _How in the world?_

Moon's eyes widened. She placed her cup of tea on the table. Sweat fell from her forehead. Her heartbeat raced. She swallowed hard. This what she was worried about and she hated that she was right. She should have spoken her mind to President Stone when she had the chance.

Sapphire kept her gaze on her clenched fists. She bit her lip. No, she couldn't cry. She was tired of crying. "There were four suspects, but President Stone said that Professor Cozmo is the one who stole the research. I believe the professor didn't steal the research. He's a man interested in the cosmos, and our research was related to medicine. I don't see why he would steal it. I tried to convince President Stone to reconsider...Ruby and I tried to, but he said Professor Cozmo was found guilty by his CCTV camera."

"Did he show you the footage?" Platinum intervened while Sapphire shook her head. "I see." She placed her thumb on her chin, thinking. Then how did President Stone find out that Professor Cozmo stole the files?

"President Stone seemed mad when we tried to convince him. He was probably shocked that his friend stole something from us." Sapphire finished with a sigh. She stood up and bent her body to bow at the ladies. "I'm really,  _really_  sorry. If I listened to Moon, then this wouldn't happen."

"It's...not your fault..." Moon spoke, biting her lip. "Sapphire, I know you were very eager to help people in this project and I don't blame you for that. Besides, I should have told President Stone myself that I disagree on leaving an important document in his office..."

"But..." Sapphire tried to reason but Moon looked at her and shook her head. She sighed, giving in.

"We both have our faults in this situation," Moon said after a moment of silence. Her lips curved into a frown "Blaming ourselves wouldn't get us anywhere."

"Moon is right." Platinum joined in, placing her hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "Let us just focus on how we will retrieve the missing documents."

Moon smiled and nodded. "Let's put that mistake behind us."

"Thank you," Sapphire mumbled, smiling weakly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I should be the one who's reassuring you two, but..."

"Do not fret about it, senior." Platinum let go of her hand and handed her a plate of chocolate cake. "You have done so much for the cancer foundation. You still continued it even though you were not feeling well. That was very brave of you."

Moon just nodded, agreeing on every word that the heiress said. It was true. She couldn't have done it without Sapphire's persistence and hard work. She wouldn't have the 'best thesis' award if it weren't for Sapphire as her research partner.

"We'll get to the bottom of this." Sapphire clenched her fists and bit her lip, her right fang poked from her top lip. "I promise you that."

A phone call interrupted their talk. Its ringtone echoed throughout the library as Platinum let out a sigh to answer the call. "Hello?" She asked, her eyes slowly widening in shock. "Oh...senior Sapphire," She removed the phone from her ear, her free hand covering it. "Senior Blue wants to talk to you."

Sapphire furrowed her eyebrows. Questions roamed around her head. First of all, how did she know she was at the Berlitz's? Second, why did she have to call in Platinum's phone number? She had her own phone so why not call on her own phone number. She shook those thoughts away. She would probably know once she talks to Blue. "Alright," She said slowly, gently receiving Platinum's phone. She placed it close to her ear. "Hello?"

" _Sapphire, hello!"_ Blue answered from the other line. She sat up straight, turning her chair. " _You and Ruby_ _ **really**_   _need to talk."_

"Talk about what?" Sapphire asked. She's now more interested as to why Blue called her. What was this about her and Ruby needed to talk? Did he do something again? She really hoped he didn't get himself into trouble.

Blue bit her lip and let out a sigh. She couldn't just spill all the beans to her friend; she had to know herself. She knew Ruby only wanted to help, but not telling this to Sapphire was his big mistake. It could lead to bigger trouble and she hoped it wouldn't. This was why she was calling Sapphire now. She wanted to prevent a possible misunderstanding between the two lovebirds before it's too late. But, as she thought before, telling  _all_  the details to Sapphire would be too much. She had to give over the information one by one, slowly yet surely. " _You'll find out tomorrow. Keep a close eye around Devon, okay?"_

"I...I will." Sapphire reluctantly said. She was about to say something until Blue ended the call. She sighed, returning the phone back to Platinum. Why did she need to keep an eye around Devon? What was with that 'needed' talk with Ruby?  _Unless..._  It was just her hunch, but did Ruby tell her or did Blue find this out on her own? Nonetheless, she would eventually find it out by tomorrow.

"What did senior Blue say?" Platinum asked, snapping Sapphire out of her trance.

Sapphire looked at Platinum and her eyebrows started wrinkling. How would she tell them? "Well..."

* * *

 

"You what?!" Ruby roamed around the living room, walking back and forth. His body continued to sweat madly as his heartbeat continued to thump wildly. He swallowed hard, still walking back and forth in the living room. He held his phone closer to his ear. "How could you tell  _that_  to her?"

" _Knowing you, you would just make the situation worse than before,"_  Blue responded sarcastically, letting out a sigh. She wanted to prevent any complications between the two lovebirds and giving a vague hint to Sapphire was one of it. According to Sapphire, Ruby often acted rashly. His mind and his heart didn't agree unanimously whenever he would do such reckless decisions, and it kept on proving as Blue got to know him. The first one when he accidentally confessed to Sapphire at a wrong time and now hiring Rakutsu to find the thief. He really needed to think logically first before acting. " _I don't want to see you two get hurt because of your recklessness and I'm here to guide you and Sapphire along the way._ _ **Don't**_   _make this hard for me."_

"But—" Ruby tried to reason with Blue, but she ended the call. He just let out an irked sigh and fell on the couch with a hand on his forehead. He hated to admit it, but Blue was right; he didn't want to hurt Sapphire. He wanted to help her and asking for Rakutsu's help was his only option. Blue was his second option. He knew Sapphire was sympathetic enough to understand the situation, but he still hoped he wouldn't see any negative emotion in her eyes. It's what was he was preventing to see every single day. "Dammit."

Well, it looked like he needed to deal with its consequences, but for now, he had to look okay before Sapphire comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...wow, chapter 10 already. I really don't know what else to say since my mind is focused on other projects but hey, it's always fun writing this and daily to reminder to myself that...I wrote this for myself. Dang. Anyway, next chapter will be in 3 weeks. I need to focus on the other chapters plus real life stuff which is why the next one will be in 3 weeks, so yeah. ^^;
> 
> I'm always active on [ twitter](https://twitter.com/secret_cavern), discord, and recently, [ reddit](https://www.reddit.com/user/cap-cavern) so if you have any questions or just wanna chat, don't be shy contact me anytime! (Also, there's now a subreddit for franticshipping! :o)


	11. Start of an Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading!

* * *

"What were you doing four days ago?"

"I just went to the President's office." A male employee choked then gulped

"Why did you go to the President's office?"

"I just gave him my report for a project I'm working on."

"Did you see a green book in the President's office?"

The employee shook his head. "I didn't notice a green book in his office. His bookshelves are always filled with blue, red, black, white and gray colored ones."

"I see," Rakutsu placed his pen and paper in his pocket. He folded his arms across his chest. "Thank you for your cooperation. You may leave."

The employee didn't waste his time and bobbed his head. He walked away from the police officer and went back to his office.

"Looker," Rakutsu called and gave him a piece of paper. "Call the next two people on this list. Bring them here for a quick interview."

"Yes, superintendent." Looker saluted and grabbed the paper. He went further inside Devon Corporation.

Rakutsu sighed and leaned on the chair. He watched Looker disappear from his sight. He was lucky he managed to grab the list of all employees who went into President Stone's office from the man's receptionist. He could see the receptionist was frightened and surprised to see an officer from the International Police Organization, but he couldn't blame her. Big companies often take care of their own problem and having someone from the Interpol solve the company's problem was unusual. He sighed, grabbing his notebook. So far, none of the employees did something suspicious when they went into President Stone's office four days ago. As much as possible, he wanted to have the CCTV footage of the event days ago but he couldn't just rudely barge into Devon's security system; he knew it would definitely be the most secure place in the company, and gaining its access would be a tough nut to crack.

His face remained stoic. He snapped out of his trance when two employees went in front of him.  _This better be worth my time, Ruby._ He thought, grabbing his pen. "Introduce yourselves."

Both employees gulped. This was going to be a long day for them.

* * *

 

"Senior Sapphire!" Trevor called and closed the door. He placed his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.

Sapphire broke her gaze on her laptop screen to look at Trevor. She watched him take a seat on the visitor's chair. "Trevor, what is it?"

"It's…" Trevor swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and looked at his senior. Sweat continued to drench his shirt. "It's the Interpol." He started. "They're interviewing every employee who went into President Stone's office four days ago. I don't know why they're doing this, but I don't think President Stone hired them."

"Ruby," Sapphire mumbled, glaring at the man on her left.

Trevor shuddered in fear as he watched Ruby stood up from his seat. Should he give them some privacy?

"You can leave us alone, Trevor," Ruby said and buried his hands in his pockets. He bit his lip and forced himself to look into Sapphire's eyes. He didn't know Rakutsu would barge into Devon Corporation just to finish his job, but he was glad that the police officer finally started working. He was busy training the new recruits yesterday and he had to beg him to start working tomorrow through text messages. It explained why he hadn't kept his eyes off from his phone yesterday.

Trevor didn't hesitate. He slowly walked away from the couple and closed the door. Once he was outside, he sighed and pressed his ear on the door. He was curious if Ruby did hire the police officers. But why would Ruby do such a thing? He heard from the veteran employees that President Stone hated it if outsiders intervened with the company's problems. He couldn't imagine how President Stone would react when he saw this.

* * *

 

Sapphire sat on her chair with her hands clasped together. She eyed Ruby from head to toe. It was odd that she didn't have enough evidence on who hired the officers from the Interpol, but her gut was telling her that Ruby was the one who hired them. But why?

She didn't understand why he involved himself in Devon's problems. Devon was one of the largest company in the world; it takes care of its own problems. And she knew her boss hated it when outsiders meddle into the company's problems. She took a deep breath, calming herself.

Was this the kind of 'talk' Blue was telling her yesterday? Ruby already knew that she could perfectly handle herself. She wasn't and is never a damsel in distress. Sapphire was nothing but a researcher whose work was stolen by an unknown person.

"If you're wondering," Ruby started and bit his lip. He sat in front of her. "Yes, I hired them." He admitted and proceeded to grab Sapphire's hands.

Sapphire bit her lip and removed her hands from him. She stood up and turned her back from him. Her face darkened. She hated that her intuition was right. "Why would ya hire them?" She spoke. Her tone was grim. Her tone was sharp, and her eyes looked like she was ready to kill someone.

She could already predict his reasons, and she hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. Ruby often made impulsive decisions whenever an unexpected crisis would approach, and she wished he would stop that habit of his. It often leads him into trouble.

"I want that criminal to rot in jail," Ruby responded. That was one of his reasons, but his main reason was that he wanted to help her in any way he could. He didn't have the detective skills to solve such crimes and hiring Rakutsu was his best bet. Deep down, he still wished he could do something and find that criminal.

"Ruby," Sapphire turned around. She still refused to look him in the eye, however. "Did ya even think about this?" She took a deep breath. She tried her best to control her voice. "Devon can deal with its own problems. I know it's been four days since I haven't found the real thief, but I'm workin' on it. I don't need the Interpol's help."

"Sapph," Ruby bit his lip. "I'm not saying that you can't do it on your own. I hired Rakutsu just so I could help you. I wanted you to know that you're not alone with this!"

"Let me make this clear, Ruby." Sapphire grabbed his shirt collar and looked at him dead in the eye. "President Stone hates it when outsiders interfere with the company's problems and if he finds out that you were the one who hired Rakutsu, then I don't know how will I defend ya! Your actions are also my responsibilities. I..." She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, feeling a massive headache coming. She leaned her head on his chest. "I don't want ya to get in trouble with my boss..."

"Sapphire," Ruby grabbed her hands and held it tightly. His stomach tied into knots when realized how close their faces were. He gulped. "I don't care if I get into trouble. I love you. I'm doing this for you. Your problem is also my problem."

"I know!" She snapped, glaring at him, removing her hands from his. She bit her lip.  _Again with saying that at the wrong time, Ruby!_

Ruby's lips curved into a frown. He told her at the wrong time again. When will he learn? He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. He was surprised that she didn't punch him or pull away. She just tucked her head in his chest as he pulled her closer. He closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her unique berry scent.

A few moments passed, Sapphire gently pulled herself away from their hug and looked at him in the eye. She could easily see the desperation and sincerity in it; nothing could really change his mind about it. He was fixed on helping her and even if she pushed him away, he would find a way to help her despite which method it would be. She sighed. "It's almost ten. You need to go to work...please."

"I'll pick you up at five," Ruby said and grabbed his satchel on the couch. He wasn't contented on leaving her, but if it meant it could help her then so be it.

"Don't. I can go home alone."

"Please, Sapphire," Ruby begged and held her hand. He gave it a soft squeeze.

Sapphire's fangs poked on her lip as she bit it. "And then you'll go to work if I said yes?"

Ruby didn't hesitate and nodded. "I will."

"Let's meet at Rustboro Street. In front of the flower shop." Sapphire said and sat down. Her eyes were focused on her laptop.

"Alright, see you later." Ruby knelt down and pressed his soft lips on her cheek. He stood up and went outside her office. His eyes widened when he saw Trevor in front of him.

Trevor's eyes went round then stood up straight. Sweat dripped from his forehead. "Mister Ruby...y-you're leaving?"

Ruby bobbed his head. "Yeah. Please take care of Sapphire for me."

"I will." Trevor nodded. "Don't worry."

Ruby gave the lad a weak smile before leaving the Devon Corporation with Sapphire never departing from his mind.

* * *

 

"Alright," Rakutsu placed his notebook in his pocket. He crossed his arms on his chest. He eyed the employee. "You may return to your work. Thank you for your cooperation."

The employee just nodded and headed straight to his office. Rakutsu watched him as he grabbed his cup of coffee on the table. He watched the company president approach him, and judging by his looks, he seemed irked. He didn't need to wonder why.

He and Looker barged into Devon without any employee's nor employer's consent. The International Police Organization was known throughout the world and when its employees or employers entered any building from anywhere around the globe with their officer ID and license, there was no need to investigate why they were in a certain building. It automatically meant that they had to investigate that building or company.

"Officer...Lack-Two, was it?" President Stone stopped on his tracks, eying the police officer from head to toe. He placed his hands on his coat. "I didn't know you would drop by here, and...doing an investigation? I wasn't informed."

"I was hired." was all Rakutsu said. He stood up.

"By whom?" The President asked with a raised eyebrow. His lips curved into an 'mmm' sound.

"That information is classified." "He said, grabbing his notebook. "But I can assure you it's not Sapphire."

"I noticed," President Stone responded. "You see, Devon Corp. has been a service to the public for years now and having a high ranking police officer and a detective from the Interpol isn't something we see here every day. What made you come here?"

Rakutsu didn't hesitate. He responded quickly yet slowly, "The stolen research files. I was informed that one of your employees stole it and we're interviewing the witnesses one by one. Is there a problem with that, President?"

"Unfortunately, boy, there is." President Stone sat beside the police officer and offered him a rage candy bar. Rakutsu politely declined. "We already found the suspect three days ago and I fired him."

"What happened to the stolen research files?" Rakutsu rose an eyebrow, jotting it down.

"He never revealed where he took it. I was about to give him a chance, but he said he wouldn't return the files, so I fired him."

"Do you have any CCTV footage behind this crime?"

"I have, but since we already found out who the crook was, there is no need to further investigate. There is no need to meddle into my company's problems, alright?"

"If you will show me the footage then Detective Looker and I could go home and close this case, but until then, we will still interview every witness including you, sir, and..." Rakutsu pressed his pen, writing the President's name on his notebook. He gave him a serious look. "I would like you to cooperate with us and just simply tell me what you did four days ago, from the moment you stepped into this company until you went outside. Please, don't make this hard for us, President, you are now a suspect in this case."

President Stone let out a sigh. His shoulders dropped as he took a bite from the candy bar. It looked like he had no choice but to do what the officer told him to. He didn't want to get into trouble with the Interpol. "Alright," He gave in. "Like all company bosses, I was just in my office."

"And?" Rakutsu asked. He arched an eyebrow, jotting down what the president said.

President Stone swallowed the candy bar. This was going to be longer than he thought.

* * *

 

**5:10 PM**

**Pretty Petal Flower Shop**

Pretty Petal Flower shop was located on the farthest side of Rustboro Street. It was beside an apartment building with an alleyway between the structures. The shop was not only known for selling different kinds of flowers but it was also known as a business run by four sisters.

Sapphire's eyes wandered around the flower shop. After a long day at work, she needed something to relieve her stress and visiting this flower shop was the first thing she'd thought of. She felt somewhat less stressed just by looking at the different kinds of flowers and plants on display. She sighed, looking at the time. It was five-ten in the afternoon, and Ruby should be around now.

"That'll be three thousand yen," The cashier said with a smile.

Sapphire snapped out from her trance. She grabbed the exact amount of cash from her wallet and gave it to the cashier.

"I received three thousand yen." The cashier said and placed the money in the cash register drawer.

Sapphire received the plant seeds she'd bought and placed it in her bag. She went outside the shop. Her eyes darted around Rustboro Street. It was odd that Ruby didn't arrive on time and it was making her worry.

"I told you I don't have any money."

Sapphire's breath was caught in her throat. She knew that voice very well. She swallowed hard, finding the source of the voice. She had almost forgotten that Rustboro street was filled with alleyways adjacent to one another and voices echoing on every passage could be heard everywhere. But this one was strange. She felt it was close by.

"Your watch," An unfamiliar voice said.

"Sorry, but you can't have it."

"Well, that gives us no choice but to beat you up."

Sapphire gnashed her teeth. She sprinted from Pretty Petal Flower shop and onto the nearest alleyway. She stopped and panted. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of two men surrounding Ruby. "Ruby?"

The two men stopped and turned around. Ruby's jaw dropped. "S-Sapphire..."

"Wait, your name is Ruby?" One man asked. He was tall and skinny with curly blond hair. He laughed. "That's a girl's name! Ashamed that your parents didn't get a girl as a child!"

"Listen, lady," The other man said. He was chubby and had an average height for a man in his thirties with a long, shoulder-length black hair. "We'll deal with you later. You'll have your turn soon enough."

"I think we better take her to a hotel." The same tall man said. He looked at Sapphire from head to toe with a smug look on his face. "She's pretty hot."

"Get away from her!" Ruby clenched his right fist and punched the skinny man's cheek. Anger flooded into his veins. He wasn't thinking straight, but the man's words simply irked him. How dare he say such things to Sapphire?!

The tall, skinny man backed off. He held his aching cheek and spit out some blood mixed with his saliva. He grinned. "Oh, you made the wrong move, bud."

"That's enough!" Sapphire growled, intervening. She punched the same skinny man's cheek.

His eyes widened in shock when he was sent flying by the woman and hit his companion's head. The wall stopped their movements and they collapsed on the floor with a loud thud.

Sapphire's face darkened as she cracked her knuckles. Ruby let out a sigh in relief as he watched the two men struggled to stand up.

"Sapphire, we should get out here," Ruby spoke and stood beside her. He had a lot of explaining to do.

"How did ya end up like this?" Sapphire asked. Her eyes didn't leave the two injured men on the ground. "I was worried when ya didn't come to the flower shop on time. How long were they holdin' ya?" Her accent was present in her voice. Her tone was full of worry.

"Let's talk about this at home." Ruby took a deep breath and grabbed her hand. Sapphire didn't hesitate and followed him. Swiftly, they ran far from the alleyway and stopped on their tracks when they were several blocks away from it. They gasped for breath.

"I was on my way to the flower shop until those two men blocked my path." Ruby started. He felt Sapphire squeezed his hand, gesturing him to continue. He smiled. "They pushed me into that alleyway. I wanted to get away from them but I'm outnumbered. I know they'll beat me up if I try to."

"And they did when ya were out of sight," Sapphire said. Her lips curved into a frown. They'd been living in this city for years and it was odd to see Ruby got threatened by such people.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. They continued walking silently, but both heads managed to look behind them just in case those thugs planned to follow them. Ruby sighed and clenched his teeth. "I acted on impulse when that man started hitting on you. Luckily, they didn't know what you were capable of and underestimated you." He chuckled and removed his hands on hers.

Sapphire wondered at first, but her eyes widened when she felt his right arm was placed on her shoulders. A blush sneaked its way on her cheeks when he pulled her closer to him.

"I'm just glad you're safe," Ruby mumbled.

Sapphire could only sigh and remove his arm around her. "I'm glad yer safe as well." She said. "I just hope my punch was enough to make them unconscious."

"I'm sure it's enough." He reassured as they entered their condo's building.

"But still..." She bit her lip. "Why would they attack you?"

"I don't know..." Ruby responded. He pressed the fourth-floor button on the elevator. "They probably saw my face in the magazines or in the newspaper. I mean, yeah, I design dresses for actors, actresses, and even Broadway musicals so they must have thought I'm rich."

"Not to brag, but my face is in the news too. It's just weird that they didn't recognize me and asked for some money." Sapphire mumbled. The elevator stopped as its doors slid open.

"I'm just glad they didn't recognize you, but I still hate them for saying those disgusting things." Ruby quipped bitterly, balling his hands into fists.

As much as Sapphire wanted to know why those men attacked Ruby, she opted not to think about it and focus on the present. "What's done is done. Let's just get some rest. I'm just...I'm just glad you're safe." She muttered the last words then locked the door of their condo unit and headed straight to the bedroom.

Ruby only nodded and placed his blue cap on the hat stand. It was weird that such people threatened him. He was vigilant enough to not be fooled by certain people but those guys managed to force him to go with them. Then again, he didn't want trouble so he chose to do what they said. He was lucky enough that Sapphire was there to help him. If she didn't come on time, those guys might have stolen his money and his watch. He sighed and knocked on the door. Sapphire was right: it was finished and he shouldn't dwell on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that flower shop in Route 104? Yeah, that's the one I was talking about. ^^'
> 
> I really have a love-hate relationship with this fic. Maybe 75% hate and 25% like. I don't know but as long as at least 1 person enjoys this, then I'll still continue. I wanna rewrite this (even though I rewrote this fic like 3 times or maybe more and this is the best version I could've ever written) but yeah. Maybe I won't rewrite this and focus on a new project, hhhhh.
> 
> Oh, and my friend made a [ franticshipping discord server](https://discord.gg/MxMxCm)! Join us if you want! We don't bite! ;v;


	12. Where It Was Left Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, IAmOneWithTheForce for beta reading!

* * *

"How far is Professor Cozmo's place from here?"

"It took me one and a half hours to get there."

"Then we should take a cab."

"No, Ruby," Sapphire forbade. Her eyes sharpened for a glare. "I thought you'll go to work today."

"Technically, it  _is_ my day off." Ruby turned his hand, reaching for hers. He linked their fingers together as he gave her hand a soft squeeze. "So I will fulfill my promise tomorrow." He brought her hand up and kissed it while Sapphire's face just flushed. "Besides," His lips flashed into a smile. "I can't let you travel alone  _that_  far."

"Ruby, this is important." Sapphire removed her hand from his, averting her gaze. She fixed it on the floor. Her heart pounded fast from that kiss. Was he even aware that they were in the lobby or he didn't care about the stares the people were giving? "Professor Cozmo said he wanted to talk to me, and I told you that I'll give you an update. Just rest for today."

"I'll rest, but you'll take a cab to get there. My treat." Ruby stated, holding her hands once again. She was usually alright with their hands held like this. Was she flustered again? From what he knew—well—from what Blue  _told_  him, girls sometimes get flustered when someone they liked held their hands. That must be Sapphire's case.

Sapphire grunted, removing her hand from him again. He tried to hold her hands again but she gently slapped it, to which Ruby responded with an 'ow,'. She swore he was either ignoring those eyes at them or he was completely unaware of the public. "Fine, you're coming with me, but remember to go to work tomorrow."

Those were music to Ruby's ears. As much as he hated that he would  _have_  to go to work tomorrow, at least he could accompany her to Professor Cozmo's house. He could find another way to help her. "Tha—"

"And now will you two quit flirting?"

Ruby stopped. He turned his head as his eyes widened from shock.  _Crap._  He completely  _forgot_  that they were in public. How long were they staring at them? But more importantly, did Sapphire notice it from the very beginning? And if she did, was that the reason why she kept on removing her hands from his? He gulped. Sweat slowly trailed down from his forehead.

Well, this turned out to be a not-so-good morning after all. He thought things were going to be okay once she'd agreed. They really needed to get away from this awkward situation.

It was a normal day around the city. The sun rose from the east, its glistening rays spread all over the city, signaling another beautiful day was upon them. Ruby woke up from the noises he heard from the shower, and it turned out that Sapphire woke up earlier than the usual. She usually wakes up at six in the morning and then took a bath after fifteen to twenty minutes of stretching and coffee. But then, he remembered why she woke up early.

It turned out that Sapphire received a text message from Professor Cozmo yesterday, saying that he finally wanted to talk to her. Sapphire did tell him that Professor Cozmo didn't say a word when she visited, but at least she managed to tell him her opinion. Ruby believed Sapphire, and he believed that Professor Cozmo didn't steal the files. Sapphire did have a logical explanation as to why the professor wouldn't steal it, and he had to admit that he believed every word that Sapphire was saying.

After taking a shower, Ruby stood up from their bed and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which made Sapphire's face the same color as his eyes and told her to wait for him. Like their usual morning routines, Ruby would always tell Sapphire to wait for him so they could have breakfast together, which they did, but the difference was Sapphire bidding goodbye to him before going down to the lobby.

However, she didn't notice he had followed her until she felt her hand on his and asked her that question. Ruby was supposed to ask Sapphire that question, but it seemed she was in a hurry. He knew that talk with Professor Cozmo would be important, but still, she didn't need to haste. And because of that, they'd argued for who-knows-how-long until Sapphire finally gave into Ruby's offer.

Their day didn't start well after hearing those words, unfortunately.

Sapphire just buried her left hand in her pocket and grabbed Ruby's shirt collar. With another grumble escaping her lips, she gently dragged him away from the lobby and both went outside.

"Sapph," Ruby called, forcing his feet to follow her rhythm. "T-That hurts! Hey, you're wrinkling my shirt!"

"Ugh!" She removed her hand on his and turned her heel. The glare in her eyes returned as she folded her arms across her chest. Her foot impatiently tapped the pavement. "Someone literally embarrassed us and all ya cared about is yer damn shirt?!"

Ruby stood properly. He fixed his clothes, removing every wrinkle he would see on it. He stopped paying attention to his shirt and looked at her. His eyes went round like saucers. He bit his lip. "I-It was my way of easing the awkward tension." He forced to smile slyly. He sighed. "I didn't notice, okay?"

Sapphire let out a sigh, placing a hand on her forehead. She grabbed his hand as they slowly left Hoenn Homes Condominium hand in hand. As they went outside its compound, she grabbed a cab and told the driver to take them to Professor Cozmo's house. Once the destination was decided, the driver nodded and started the taxi's engine to take the couple to Professor Cozmo's house on Fallabor Street.

* * *

 

If there was one thing that Ruby hated besides getting his clothes wrinkled or dirty, then that would be traffic. He didn't know which part of the city nor which street they were, but he was absolutely bored with the heavy traffic. He checked his wristwatch and it made him wonder. It was not even an hour close to the city's rush hour. What was with the heavy traffic? Was there a construction site on this street? Parade? A truck parking in a construction site?

He hoped it wasn't anything serious like a fire or an accident. They should've taken a train to get here if things would end up this way. He mentally shook his head, listening to some jazz music the radio was playing, but it wasn't enough to cure his boredom. How come there had to be traffic at this time?

"Ruby."

He snapped out from his thoughts, jerking his head. He looked at Sapphire with a small smile on his face. At least he was stuck with her in this traffic. Maybe traffics weren't such a bad thing. As long as he was with Sapphire, then he could withstand traffics. It sounded corny, but that's how he rolled. He preferred to be stuck with her and he was planning to no matter what the end may be.

He felt Sapphire's hand on his arm. His right hand reached for it and held it tightly. Her hand was warm compared to his, and it felt nice. He loved holding her hand. "What is it?"

"Let's just walk from here." She grabbed her wallet, taking out the exact amount of money needed for their payment. "I know this street."

"Alright." He grabbed her hand, stopping her. He smiled. "Let me pay for it."

"But—"

"Hey, didn't you see the sign?" The driver pointed to the bottom left of the car's windscreen. Their eyes widened from surprise as a comically large bead of sweat fell from their foreheads.

The sign showed a couple holding each other's hands and preparing themselves for a kiss.

" _Strictly_ , no flirting." The driver grumbled and placed his hands behind his neck, leaning on the chair. A smirk appeared on his lips. "So you two better pay up and flirt outside and not in  _my_  domain."

Ruby could feel himself face-palming at the situation. He didn't know there was a signage like that. Who the hell even invented the `'no flirting' signage? He couldn't believe people were incredibly bitter enough to make one. "Right..." He said, placing their payment on the taxi meter. "Thanks." He did his best to not sound sarcastic, as he opened the door to let him and Sapphire out of the taxicab.

"What?" Sapphire asked, furrowing her eyebrows. She closed the taxi door.

"I was gonna open the door for you." He reached his hand for her to which she accepted. He intertwined their fingers together as they walked on the street hand in hand.

"You know I can open the door myself," Sapphire responded after a few minutes of silence. They listened to the bustling cars honking on the street as clashing sounds of steel rebars got mixed with it.

"I know." He squeezed her hand. "I wanted to at least be a gentleman to you."

Sapphire couldn't help, but hide her smile and the blush on her cheeks. Frankly, he had always treated her nicely ever since they met.

The rest of their walk around Lavaridge Street was quiet; maybe too quiet in Sapphire's perspective. Usually, their walk was often accompanied by Ruby's stories about his work or just any random topic he could think of, but this walk was different and somewhat weird.

Maybe because they were embarrassed for the second time of the day? She couldn't tell, but one thing was certain; she could finally hear what Professor Cozmo had to say. Professor Cozmo was somewhat mute and unresponsive the last time she had seen him. She felt really bad for the man. He knew nothing about the research yet he was guilty of stealing it to which she believed he wasn't. She could still remember his text message yesterday.

> " _Unknown number: Good day, Miss Birch. This is Professor Cozmo. Will you have time to come to my house tomorrow? I can finally talk to you with regards to your research. I know this will be a surprise to you but you have to know. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"_

She didn't know what surprise would it be. Her intuitions were telling her that it wasn't good, but why? She knew from her father and from other Devon employees that Professor Cozmo was a kind man. She heard stories that Professor Cozmo always remained humble despite his massive success. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

She heard thunderclap roared from the clouds, shifting her gaze on the sky. She saw the sun was being covered by dark, heavy rain clouds, as a chill ran her spine. Before she knew it, the breeze became colder.

"You alright?" Ruby asked, grabbing an umbrella and opened it. His right hand squeezed her left hand.

"Yeah," Sapphire's head bounced for a nod with her fangs poked from her top lip. "I'm okay." She reassured. "Let's go. It's this way."

Both turned to their left and continued walking. Sapphire's heart continued to pound anxiously through her chest. She felt her breath was caught in her throat. She didn't know why she felt like this as they approached the professor's house.

The professor's house was different. It was a simple two-storey house in between two commercial buildings.

It was the odd one out of the entire street, and it could be easily noticed by a first timer.

But what was with her anxious aura lately. She felt something...bad had happened, but what could it be? There was nothing out of the ordinary besides the heavy traffic.  _Unless..._  She shook her head, removing those thoughts in her head. She shouldn't be overthinking these. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.

Right?

"Sapph..."

Sapphire felt Ruby's squeeze on her hand. Both stopped on their tracks. She jerked her head to look at Ruby only to see a surprise expression from him. "What's wrong?" She asked, only for Ruby to respond by pointing his index finger forward. She followed it as her eyes slowly widened in shock.

She could clearly see Professor Cozmo's house, but there were two police cars on the side of the street along with a yellow barricade tape line around the house which said: 'POLICE LINE. DO NOT CROSS.'. People were huddled across the police tape line along with several police officers blocking them. Some of them were mumbling what happened while some were taking photos of the house. One police officer shouted at them and told the people to move away from the house and return to their personal businesses.

Without any doubt, a crime just happened at the professor's house.

"We know this man's house!" One of the people shouted. "Is he alright? What happened?"

"We're still in the middle of investigating." One of the police officers responded, stopping every single one of them from moving any further. "Please, stay calm and let us handle this."

"I can't stay calm! This is Professor Cozmo's house! Tell us what happened!"

"We still don't know, okay? Officer Lack-Two and Detective Looker were still investigating so I suggest you should remain calm. This case is in good hands."

"I'm staying here and you can't make me!"

Sapphire had heard enough. She looked at Ruby. Anxiety flooded in her eyes. It was in her aura. It was present in her heart. She wanted to talk to Rakutsu about this.

Ruby had read her expression. He squeezed her hand and bobbed his head slowly for a nod. "Let's go."

Sapphire bit her lip and nodded back. The two slowly approached the professor's house. Anxiety continued to linger around their auras.

* * *

 

Rakutsu placed a hand on his chin, thinking, as he eyed the two bodies lying on the floor. No blood seemed to be coming out from their skin. They were just lying lifelessly on the floor with their skin as pale as a ghost's. Simply observing them didn't seem to be helping. He needed to investigate this further.

Releasing a sigh, he dropped his knee on the floor, crouching, and placed his fingers on Professor Cozmo's pulse.  _Hmm...still no pulse. What could have happened to them?_

"Superintendent!" Detective Looker approached his boss. His face wore nothing but fear and anxiety.

"What is it?" Rakutsu stood up, grabbing a handkerchief to clean his fingers. He looked at his partner.

"Miss Sapphire and Mister Ruby are looking for you. They're in our car." Looker reported. "Let's give this task to the forensic department."

"I'll still investigate this case," Rakutsu responded, following Looker. He needed to investigate this. Professor Cozmo was the 'suspect' behind the research thief and now that he seemed to be dead, he couldn't have any clue about what the Professor did five days ago. This case was going to be tougher than he thought, but he wouldn't let his work discourage him. He was a top police officer at such a young age. More reason why he needed to work hard on this.

Rakutsu stopped on his tracks. He ignored the noisy, bustling crowd as he opened the door on his car, and went inside. He adjusted the rearview mirror. It revealed Ruby and Sapphire sitting behind him. He sighed, crossing his arms on his chest. "Why did you two come here?"

"Professor Cozmo said he wanted to talk to me." Sapphire grabbed her phone in her pocket and showed to the police officer the text message. She couldn't believe her intuitions were right. Why did it have to be correct from time to time?

"I see..." Rakutsu said, reading the message. He returned the phone to Sapphire. "Well, unfortunately, he and his wife are dead."

"What happened?" Sapphire asked as Ruby held her hand, hoping to at least make her calm down. She felt her heartbeat increase its pace. It explained everything: the heavy traffic. The crowd. The police cars. The police officers. All of it. But why? Why did they die? What could have caused it?

"We still don't know," Rakutsu said, breaking the silence. He heard faint arguments between the crowd and his coworkers but he chose to ignore it. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, calming himself. "They called the emergency hotline and reported to have collapsed before the caller picked up the phone. We came here as fast as we could."

"And it also explains the heavy traffic," Ruby mumbled, looking at their clasped hands. He could feel Sapphire was trembling. What could he do? What should he do? He took a deep breath and placed his free hand on top of their clasped hands. He gently rubbed his fingers at the back of her hand. He felt her hand relaxed for a bit, and he was glad that at least she wasn't anxious anymore.

"It does," Rakutsu responded. "Anyway, I can't let you two come inside. We're in the middle of investigating. Just wait inside my car. Don't answer to anyone except me or Detective Looker."

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Continuing my job. If you'll excuse me." Rakutsu went outside and locked the door. He heard the crowd murmuring something, but he chose to ignore it and stay focused on his job. He dug his hands in his pockets as he went inside the house to continue investigating the crime scene.  _What has gone wrong with Professor Cozmo when he called the emergency hotline?_  He wondered. The only clues he had were the lack of beating pulse and their pale skin. They really needed to call the forensic team on this one.

* * *

 

Sapphire opened her mouth to take a deep breath. She closed her eyes as she held Ruby's hand tighter. She hated to hear and bear such news about someone's death. She had enough news about death. It was hard to deal with such loss and she wished good fortune to Professor Cozmo's family. They didn't deserve this.

"It's going to be okay." Ruby squeezed her hand and pressed his soft lips on her temple. He sighed, wrapping his free arm around her waist. He pulled her closer for a side hug. He knew how sensitive this topic was for her, and he would never leave her for it. He would support whatever decision she would have until the end. "I'm here. It's gonna be okay."

And Sapphire wished it were, but things were getting worse. Professor Cozmo didn't deserve all the bad stuff that had happened to him. She just wished she could bring justice upon him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> `Okay guys, I swear that "no flirting" signage is real. I saw it in a food court once and posted it on my [ Instagram account](https://www.instagram.com/p/BfNp3Fyjaio/). I swear that's the funniest thing I've seen. XDD
> 
> My eyes hurt while editing this. I probably missed some stuff. Will get back to it once my vision is back to normal dsfjd
> 
> Oh, and my friend made a [ franticshipping discord server](https://discord.gg/FrAK6q)! Join us if you want! ;v;


	13. A Toxic Situation, Part I

* * *

**A day had passed.**

**Somewhere in the city's cemetery.**

Dark, heavy rain clouds started drifting throughout the horizon, covering the sunlight shining upon the city and its cemetery. A cool breeze followed, sending a shiver on one's spine. A flash of lightning then came along with the thunderclaps later roaring in the skies. The cold rainwater was next, as it poured slowly. Black colored umbrellas then opened, shielding its owners from the rain.

Sapphire let out a sigh, leaning her head on Ruby's arm. She eyed the names carved on each grave. Everything about this funeral felt familiar; it was heartbreaking. Why did they have to die? They were such good people...

"Sapphire," Rakutsu stood a few meters beside the couple. His eyes were closed as his arms were folded across his chest. The rainwater continued to drench him. He was wearing a casual black suit and tie with a black fedora and sunglasses. He sighed, turning his head to look at them.

"We need to talk."

Sapphire just nodded. She grabbed Ruby's hand, as the three left the cemetery and went into the police officer's car. Like yesterday, they seated at the back while Rakutsu sat on the driver's seat. He adjusted the rearview mirror.

As silence surrounded them, the rain continued to drop heavily while lightning and a loud thunder followed. After wiping his hands with a dry handkerchief, he grabbed a brown envelope from the spare chair and gave it to the two. He crossed his arms on his chest. "We've continued investigating yesterday and we found out that Professor Cozmo and his wife were murdered."

"W-What?" Sapphire was shocked as she read the case file. Her heartbeat ran fast. Why were they murdered? What wrong have they done? Professor Cozmo was an innocent man!

"How is that possible?" Ruby asked. He interlocked his fingers with Sapphire, clutching her hand gently. He bit his lip. Why did things have to end up this way?

"They were food poisoned."

Ruby and Sapphire were surprised to hear that. Questions were lingering in their head. Their heartbeats were beating fast. Despite the cold rain outside, they were sweating from the news they just got. They swallowed the lump in their throat.

This was all too much for them to handle.

"We're investigating Mauville food court. It seems like what they last ate was a takeout meal. Detective Looker should be calling me around this time."

Sapphire nodded along.

"For how long?" Ruby asked while Rakutsu just responded with a shrug. He lowered his head, pursing his lips.

The three fell into another silence as they waited for Detective Looker's news. Raindrops continued to fall heavily from the sky. A blinding flash of lightning followed by a thunder.

Rakutsu placed a hand on his chin, as his free hand tapped the steering wheel. He inhaled, his eyes darted at the couple. He was not a man who liked to meddle into people's businesses, but honestly, the way Ruby and Sapphire act around each other didn't seem platonic. It was definitely something more, but who was he to ask them such questions? Besides, if they were in a romantic relationship, then they have his congrats; no more, no less. He sat up properly, grabbing his phone on the dashboard. The clock said it was seventeen, five in the afternoon. Looker should be sending him a text message by now.

Maybe he should call him.

"Rakutsu,"

Rakutsu turned to look at Sapphire. He rose an eyebrow as his lips curved into a pout. "What is it?"

"I can—well—it's not that I can, but I know someone who can help us with this case."

"Who?" Rakutsu asked, curious. He didn't know anyone besides the Interpol's medical team.

"My research partner," Sapphire stated, smiling. "She's an expert when it comes to poisons."

Rakutsu's lips curved into a smirk. "I think I know whom you're referring to."

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

The next day was bright, sunny and windy compared to yesterday. Birds were either freely singing on the tree branches or soaring in the sky. Clouds of all shapes and sizes flew with each flock of birds as the bright sunlight covered the entire city.

A certain delivery truck slowly made its way to the International Police Organization. It later stopped at the front gate guarded by two police officers.

"Sorry, bud, but there are no delivery schedules for today so you have to leave the Interpol," A police officer said. He watched the truck window opened, revealing a young courier with a cat-like smile.

"Oh no, Officer!" Sun spoke, his cheerful tone perfectly matched the nice weather. "I'm just here to drop miss poison lady!"

"Miss—what?" The police officer asked and rose his eyebrow. He looked at the person beside the courier.

"Ignore him," Moon said and went down the truck. She approached the police officer. "I'm Moon. I'm a pharmacist. I came here under Officer Lack-Two's request."

"May I see your ID, ma'am? We would also like to inspect your bag too."

Moon just sighed and handed her employee's ID to the police officer. She opened her bag and let the other police officer inspect it.

"Do you need a ride home, miss?" Sun asked and put on his seatbelt.

Moon released a grumble and closed her bag. "No, I don't. Just leave now so you can get your payment from Lady Platinum."

"Alright," Sun grabbed the bill of his cap. He turned on the truck's engine and drove off from the International Police Organization. The smile on his face didn't leave. He may have not the courier position from the Berlitz but at least he would get paid for taking Moon to the Interpol safely.

"Good day, ma'am," Looker came. He stopped on his tracks and gasped for breath. Moon just stood there and watched the detective catch his breath for a few moments before standing up. He nodded at the young woman. "I'm very sorry we have to call you in such short notice."

"It's alright. I did promise Sapphire that I'll help her crack this case. It was also my research that got stolen." Moon reassured and attached her visitor's ID in her ID lace. Her eyes wandered around the Interpol. It was her first time here and as she expected, it was a huge camp filled with enormous buildings and vast fields. It felt like it was a combination of the Berlitz Estate and the Berlitz Research Facility in terms of property.

"Yes, anyway, we'll first meet up with Superintendent Lack-Two in his office before we head to the laboratory," Looker informed, walking with the young doctor around the Interpol's main building. He nodded at his co-workers as they walked past them.

"Sure," Moon said. Her eyes remained on the floor. "Is it alright to ask where Sapphire is? I might need her help too."

"That, I do not know." Looker stopped on his tracks and knocked on the door. "You may ask the superintendent about that information."

"What information?"

Looker's eyes widened as he backed off. He let out a cough and stood up straight. "Superintendent!"

Rakutsu's eyes remained closed. His arms were folded across his chest. "I have the food sample with me. Let's head to the lab."

"Rakutsu, right?" Moon asked and stood beside the police officer. Rakutsu just nodded, not caring if the young doctor called him by his real name. She rose an eyebrow as she observed him from head to toe. She couldn't help but admire his physical appearance.  _So this was the famous Officer Lack-Two everyone was talking about._  She didn't expect him to be  _this_  young. He seemed like he was only a few years older than her. "May I ask where Sapphire is?"

"She's working, but she said she'll arrive here around five," Rakustu responded. He grabbed a re-sealable plastic bag and handed it to Moon. "Sapphire said you're an expert when it comes to poison. You're our best bet if our hunches were correct. Find out if they were really food poisoned based on the food sample I got from their take-out meal."

"Right. I just need some safety equipment and a laboratory to perform the test." Moon received the plastic bag and looked at it. It contained nothing but a piece of pasta and a leftover sauce.

It was all she needed for the test.

Their walk around the Interpol's HQ was silent until they reached the laboratory. Rakutsu stopped on his tracks and grabbed his police ID. He gave it to the laboratory technician as he inspected it.

"What do you need, Officer Lack-Two?" He asked, giving Rakutsu a yellow slip with the number four printed on it.

"I need some personal protective equipment. A lab coat, safety gloves, make sure it's made of rubber, safety glasses, safety mask and safety boots that are also made of rubber." Moon responded.

The laboratory technician's eyes widened. He gulped and grabbed everything that the young pharmacist told him. "Right. A lab coat. Uh—gloves—gloves that are..."

Rakutsu smirked. He opened his eyes and looked at Moon. "If you perform better than our forensic team, I'll consider hiring you in the future."

"I have my hands full at the Berlitz Research Facility," Moon received a lab coat from the lab technician along with other protective equipment that she needed for the test. She sighed and put on the lab coat. She smiled. "Although, if it's worth my time, I'll see what I can do."

Rakutsu just nodded and returned to his stoic expression. He watched Moon perform some tests on the sample he'd given to her.

The Interpol forensics team were doing everything they could to test the samples he'd taken from Professor Cozmo's house, but there still wasn't any progress. He just hoped Moon could make at least a percentage of progress for today. The young pharmacist did tell him that she wouldn't be available tomorrow and whatever work she would finish today couldn't be continued on the next day. He crossed his arms on his chest and sighed. He looked at the wall clock in the equipment area. Sapphire would arrive at any moment now.

* * *

 

**Castelia Street**

**3:00 PM**

The weather suddenly became similar yesterday; the sky was dark and gloomy. Lightning and thunder appeared in the heavens. Ruby took a deep breath and adjusted his blue cap. He dug his hands in his pockets and silently walked on the street.

"Well, well, well," A familiar voice said, standing in front of Ruby.

Ruby stopped on his tracks. He looked at the man in front of him. It was the same man who attacked him nights ago, except he had a bandage on his cheek. Just by looking at him made him both proud and anxious—proud for he knew it only took one punch from Sapphire to hurt this man. Anxious for he had a bad feeling about this. He bit his lip.  _Not again._  His eyes wandered around the street, searching for a place to escape. He slowly took a step back but stopped when he bumped into someone.

"Going somewhere?" A man asked. He was taller than the person in front of him and Ruby. He was muscular and had short, brown hair.

Ruby remained silent. He moved onto his left but another man came in to block his path. He looked at the man and his eyes widened. This was the same short, chubby man he had encountered the other night. How did they recognize him?

Castelia Street was the busiest street in the city and every day, hundreds of people walk on this street. He made sure to not wear his white beanie hat just so it wouldn't stand out from the crowd. He was wearing his glasses too. They couldn't just recognize him that easily, right? "I told you guys: I don't have any money."

"That's okay." The tall, skinny man said. He balled his fists. A smug appeared on his face. "We're just here to teach you a lesson."

Ruby's eyes remained to wander around the street. He was disappointed to see all of the people walking on this street ignore him. Couldn't they even feel the tension among him and these three men?

"And this time," The brunette said and placed his arms on Ruby. He pushed him into the alleyway in front of them. "It's three against one."

Ruby's foot slipped on the pavement. He fell on the floor with his bottom hitting it. He gritted his teeth and stood up. He gulped. Sweat fell from his forehead as the three men huddled in front of him. Their lips were smirking while cranking their knuckles.

"We made sure your girlfriend wasn't around here either." The chubby man threw his head back, laughing. It echoed around the small passageway.

Ruby tried to stand but a punch on his cheek caused him to fall on the floor. His head hit the ground while his glasses cracked.

"She won't save your ass this time, girly boy!"

Ruby grunted. He removed his glasses and threw it away. He balled his fists and stood up. He tried to fight back but the smallest man in the group punched his gut. His eyes widened as saliva fell from his mouth.

"Aww, is he gonna cry?"

"You..." Ruby started talking. He grabbed the small, chubby man's fist and threw him to his left. The chubby man slipped on the floor and hit his bottom on it. "You cowards. Three against one isn't fair."

"Alright. I've run out of patience." The blond said and punched Ruby's left cheek.

Ruby backed off and held his cheek. Blood dripped from it. As he was about to attack the two men, another fist landed on his right cheek. They didn't give Ruby a time to breathe. With a smug on their faces, the two men continued to punch Ruby. The smallest chubby man stood up from and joined in. He punched Ruby's back, causing the photographer to fall on the floor.

Ruby opened his mouth to gasp for air. He tried to open his eyes and to stand up despite his pained body.

The three men didn't give him enough time to stand up and one kicked Ruby's gut, sending him flying. Ruby hit the wall and fell on the ground. He placed his hands on it and tried to stand up. He coughed and spat blood.

A flash blinded his eyesight, causing him to permanently close his eyes. Once he opened them, his face met one of the man's foot. He kicked Ruby's cheek and his head hit the trash can.

"You idiot!" The blond smacked the chubby guy's head. "Why didn't you turn off your camera's flash!? People could have seen us beat up this pretty boy!"

"I forgot okay!" He defended and placed the phone back in his pocket.

"Well, whatever. Just hold onto that. At least we have proof that we beat this guy up. Let's get outta here before anyone sees us."

Thunder crackled from the heavens as raindrops slowly fell from it, drenching the city. Ruby tried to gain consciousness but it was slowly fading along with his vision. His mind could only think of one person. "Sa…Sapphire…" He called, struggling to stand up. It was no use; the three men beat him up perfectly.

* * *

 

Sapphire stopped on her tracks. An empty test tube fell on the table and shattered on the floor. She sighed and knelt down to collect its broken pieces.

"You're not hurt, are you Sapphire?" Moon asked. She knelt beside Sapphire to help her grab the shattered pieces of glass on the floor.

Sapphire shook her head while biting her lip. She wasn't clumsy by nature, but it was odd that she'd accidentally hit this expensive equipment.

"We're lucky it was an empty one." Moon stood up and placed all the broken glass pieces in the trash can. She watched Sapphire stood up and grab her phone. "Sapphire, are you alright?"

"Huh?" Sapphire asked, dropping her phone in her pocket. "I'll just pay for the broken test tube." She said. Her eyes wandered around the Interpol's laboratory. It was five-thirty and Ruby was late. He said he would arrive on the Interpol around five-fifteen but he was fifteen minutes late. Did he catch up to the city's rush hour? She hoped he did. She was starting to worry about him. He would usually send a text message if he would arrive late, but she hasn't received any messages or phone calls from him.

"I'm asking if you're alright," Moon repeated. Anxiety lit up in her eyes. She had never seen Sapphire lose her focus before. This was definitely different days ago. She may have looked at her phone but she wasn't smiling and that alone was enough to make Moon worry.

Before Sapphire could respond, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She immediately grabbed it and responded to the call. "Ruby, where are ya? Yer startin' to worry me!"

" _Senior Sapphire, it's me, Black. I have some...some news..."_  Black gripped Ruby's phone. He continued. " _It's about senior Ruby."_

Sapphire's breath was caught in her throat. She gulped. She had a bad feeling about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's also a [ franticshipping discord server](https://discord.gg/J64jvG)! Feel free to join if you want to!
> 
> It's not mandatory, but if you like my work, feel free to drop me a coffee on ko-fi! (cap_cavern)


	14. A Toxic Situation, Part II

* * *

**Castelia Street**

**Castelian Apartment Place**

**6:30 PM**

"Ruby!" Sapphire opened the door and stepped inside, her eyes met an unconscious Ruby. She felt her heart shattering, as she observed on his face. There was a purple bruise on his right cheek and she could see a speck of blood from his lower left lip too. She gulped and bit her lip, controlling her tears. Her legs started to become weak and wobbly like gelatin. "Ruby..." She approached the bed slowly and held his hands. They were cold as ice. "What happened...?"

"You run fast, senior." Black stopped in his tracks and stood beside Sapphire. He gasped for breath.

"What happened?" Sapphire repeated, her eyes remained at Ruby.

Black sighed and scratched his head. He understood why Sapphire was acting like this; if the same thing happened to White or to his friends, he would do the same. "I was taking out the trash and then I saw senior Ruby lying unconsciously on the ground. He was beaten up. I checked his bag to see if they took his belongings but thankfully they didn't. I was able to contact you on his phone."

Sapphire didn't respond. She continued staring at Ruby with guilt consuming her. If only she'd agreed to meet up with him so they could go to the Interpol together, then none of this would happen.  _I'm so sorry, Ruby..._

"Do you know who did this to him?" Rakutsu asked, folding his arms across his chest. He stood a few feet from the three.

"Rakutsu?" Black turned around. His eyes widened in shock. He didn't expect him to be here. "I thought you were busy at the Interpol?"

"What happened to Ruby is also part of my job," Rakutsu responded as-a-matter-of-factly. He eyed an unconscious Ruby from head to toe. He was really beaten up pretty good. "Besides, Sapphire hired me to do this job."

"Oh," Black said. He grabbed a chair from the dining table and gave it to Sapphire. "Here, you should sit down, senior."

Sapphire just looked at Black. Her eyes contained nothing but guilt and anxiety. A few moments passed, she accepted the chair and placed it close to the bed. She sat on it and interlocked her hands with Ruby.  _I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..._

"I wish I know who did this to him," Black mumbled. He watched Sapphire bobbed her head for a nod. She remained silent and Black decided to head to the living room. He stopped and looked at Rakutsu who seemed to be taking notes. A small notebook was placed on the table with a pen and a pencil. He sighed and sat in front of the young police officer.

"There are CCTV cameras on the streets of this city." Rakutsu started talking. He grabbed his phone. "I'm sure whoever beat the crap out of Ruby forced him to go in that alley so no one can see them." He placed a hand on his chin, thinking. "I just need the city's permission to inspect the CCTV camera so I can have a good look at it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Black asked in his quietest tone. It felt odd for him to speak quietly, but he had to.

"No, I can handle this." Rakutsu closed his notebook. "Just tell me when Ruby wakes up. I'll be outside."

"Okay...?" Black responded, confused, and watched Rakustu leave his apartment. He sighed then stood up, heading to his apartment's small kitchen. If Ruby and Sapphire would stay in his apartment for a while, he might as well cook something for them.

* * *

 

" _You're asking that_ _ **again**_ _?"_

"Yes," Rakutsu answered, his voice was stoic and demanding at once. He was standing on the lamp post in front of Black's apartment. He held his phone closer to his ear. He observed the CCTV camera placed on the same lamp post. "Why? Is there a problem?"

" _Yes, there is! Officer Lack-Two, if you want to access from the CCTV camera on that specific location on Castelia Street then I suggest you go back here to the Interpol and we'll find the video for you. We can't let you do what you want again! One is enough!"_

"Then you have four hours," Rakutsu quipped and went inside the apartment. He watched Black talk to Sapphire with a cup of coffee in their hands. "I'll be working on these three cases if you wanna know. I expect to see that footage when I arrived at the Interpol."

" _But Officer, you have to remember that you have to focus on one case at a time. What will the higher ranks say about this? What should I tell them?"_

Rakutsu took a deep breath. He hated breaking the rules, but he was taught to help people despite the circumstances. And in this case, his seniors needed it. "Tell them that I was hired to solve these three cases. It is my duty to serve the public, after all."

An irked sigh was heard from the other line. Rakutsu opted to roll his eyes on it. " _Fine, but you better explain yourself to them."_

"Sure," Rakutsu ended the call and dropped his phone in his pocket. He went back to Black's room. Once he was there, he approached them with his hands dug in his pockets. "There's no need to worry about this one, Sapphire. I'll handle this." He said as he watched Sapphire placed her cup of coffee on the nightstand. Her gaze was still fixed at Ruby. "How long was he unconscious?"

Sapphire bit her lip. She held Ruby's hands. It hadn't been an hour since they got here, but looking at the bruises on Ruby's face, it seemed like he was beaten up hours ago.

"Probably for an hour and a half," Black replied, running a hand through his hair. "I mean I took out the trash around five and it's six-thirty, so—"

"Gotcha," Rakutsu intervened, his hand rubbing his chin. He observed Ruby slowly breathe from the bed, and as he furrowed his eyebrows, he heard a grumble.

This caused Black to perk up and Sapphire's eyes widened in shock. All eyes were now fixed at the man lying on the bed.

"Ruby!" Sapphire spoke. Her tone was full of relief and anxiety. She watched him struggle to sit up straight on the bed.

"Sa...Sapph..." Ruby spoke and squeezed her hands. He forced to open his eyes.

Sapphire assisted him to sit on the bed and placed a pillow on his back. Ruby leaned on the pillow and let out a long sigh. "Where am I?" He asked, his eyes wandered around the small apartment. It was a bit messy. There were clothes clumsily hanging on the cabinet whilst used shirts and shorts were scattered on the floor.

"You're in Black's apartment," Sapphire replied softly. Ruby broke his gaze on the cabinet and looked at her. He met her guilt-ridden eyes, making him frown at that. "What happened to ya? I was so worried about ya. When ya didn't call or send me a text message, I got worried and..." She bit her lip and took a deep breath. She had to stay calm. She had to remember that they weren't alone. "I was so worried about ya..."

Ruby smiled weakly. He removed his left hand on hers and cupped her cheek. "Doesn't matter. As long as you're alright..."

Sapphire's cheeks flushed. She broke her gaze from him and squeezed his hand. "R-Ruby," She gritted her teeth. Her heartbeat became fast. Didn't he realize that Black and Rakutsu were behind her? "Did ya even see yerself? Who did this to ya? What happened?"

Ruby brought their intertwined hands and kissed it. "Sapphire, it doesn't matter. They got away and I'll be prioritizing your safety next," He closed his eyes, trying to sit up, but the brunette placed a hand on his chest, prompting him to lie down. "I-I can't let them get their hands on you."

"Ruby, I'm perfectly capable of takin' care of myself!" Tears welled up in Sapphire's eyes. She chose to close her eyes and ignore it. "Will ya stop thinkin' about me and start payin' attention to yerself for once?!"

"I love you, Sapphire," Ruby confessed. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead on hers. His hands returned to cup her cheeks. "Even if I did force myself to stop thinking about you, I just can't do it. You're always in my mind."

"Ruby," Sapphire backed off, distancing herself from him. Why did he have to confess at the wrong time  _again_? "Stop! This ain't 'bout me!"

Rakutsu took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and patted Black's shoulder. Black wondered at first but he understood what Rakutsu was trying to say when the police officer turned his back from Ruby and Sapphire.

Black conceded and followed, turning his back at them. It turned out that this was the famous bickering between Ruby and Sapphire everyone was talking about. It was cute once he observed it. They really do care about each other, but could they at least lower their tone? People might hear them.

"Sapphire, please," Ruby grabbed her hands. He linked their fingers together. "Please, get some rest. You're stressed."

"I'm stressed because I'm worried about ya!" She dropped her head as tears flowed down from her eyes. She bit back a sob.

Ruby took a deep breath and sighed. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him. Sapphire refused, but she was surprised that Ruby managed to have enough strength to squeeze it. She opened her eyes, as she watched Ruby use his thumbs to dry her tears.

It was dead silence. The final crackle of thunder echoed in the heavens as raindrops stopped pouring on the city. The bustling conversations of the people in the lobby got mixed with the vehicles' noises from the outside.

Black jerked his head to his left to peek at the couple but stopped when Rakutsu tapped his shoulder. Black sighed and continued staring at the wall.

"I'm...I'm sorry I made you worry," Ruby spoke after a moment of silence. He reluctantly pressed his soft lips against hers. The kiss didn't take a minute as Ruby managed to pull away immediately after several seconds. He sighed. "They were the same men who attacked us the other night. I guess they wanted revenge so they hired another person to help beat the crap out of me. It's such a shame that they managed to."

Sapphire bit her lip. Anger started consuming her. "I still remember what they look like. I'll make sure they'll rot in jail so it won't happen again." She squeezed his hands and sighed. "I'm so sorry..."

Ruby shook his head. "I should be apologizing to you. I made you worry. Instead of focusing on who stole your research paper, I gave you another problem. I'm sorry, Sapph..."

"It's my fault, Ruby." Sapphire refused to look at him. Guilt lit up in her eyes. "If only I agreed to meet up with ya then...ya wouldn't get beat up like this..."

"I don't wanna risk you getting hurt." Ruby smiled weakly. He tucked a loose hair behind her ear. "Don't blame yourself. It's  _not_  your fault."

Rakutsu let out a cough, startling the couple. A blush rose on their cheeks. Their hearts started beating wildly as their hands remained on each other. Ruby started to wonder how long they were there.

"I need your help, Sapphire." Rakutsu took out his notebook and pen. "Tell me what they look like. I'll report this to the Interpol immediately."

"Yer not gonna stay and investigate?" Sapphire asked while Rakutsu just nodded.

"I just need to ask questions from the witnesses. If the criminal looked familiar, we might have a record of them too."

"I see." Sapphire stood up. She stopped and patted Black's shoulder. "Please give Ruby something to eat."

Black bit his lip and nodded. He watched Sapphire and Lack-Two head to the living room. Once the two left, Black's eyes wandered around his bedroom. He heard from White that Ruby wasn't a fan of filthy places and his room was one of it. In his defense, he hardly had any time to clean his apartment due to his work at BW Agency and his duties as a college student. His eyes met Ruby's. He gulped. This was awkward. What should he do? "So," He started and rubbed the back of his head. "Would you like some cup noodles?"

Ruby arched an eyebrow. His hand traveled on his head, massaging it. How long was he unconscious? "I guess cup noodles would be nice." He responded. "Hey, Black,"

Black poked his head from the room. His eyebrows furrowed. "What is it?"

"How long was I unconscious?"

Black bit his lip. "I don't know. I went out to take the trash around five and that's where I saw you. I'm just glad they didn't stab you or anything."

"I see," Ruby mumbled. He sighed. "Thanks for calling Sapphire."

Black grinned at his senior and nodded. "Sure," He smiled. "Anyway, I'll be right back."

* * *

 

**The Next Day**

**Hoenn Homes Condominium**

**1:30 PM**

Ruby took a deep breath. He shut his eyes and squeezed Sapphire's hand. Slowly, he let himself sit on the couch. He sighed and opened his eyes.

"Are ya feelin' any better?" Sapphire asked. Her accent was present. She sat beside Ruby and gulped. Should she lean her head on his chest? She was afraid she may hurt him. Ruby may have got enough rest last night, but the bruises on his chest were still present. Seeing those when he removed his shirt last night was enough to break her heart. It hurt her more when Ruby tried his best to comfort her. She should be the one who's comforting him and not the other way around; he was physically hurt because of her.

"A little," Ruby smiled and placed his left arm on her shoulder. "I can move properly, though, but breathing hurts a bit."

Sapphire bit her lip. She forced herself to look at him. Despite the pain he was experiencing, he still managed to smile. It reminded her of their childhood days. He always wore a smile despite how worse the situation was. She gulped. Her left hand reached for his cheek as her fingers slowly caressed it.

Ruby just looked at her with his eyes burning with passion. Her soft, warm touch was enough to make him feel better, but he wished the guilt and pain in her eyes weren't there.

"Moon will arrive today. Her medicine will remove those bruises, don't worry."

Ruby just sighed, closing the distance between them. He stopped when their lips were a few inches apart. He wanted to kiss her pain away but it seemed like it wasn't a good idea for now. Instead, he tried to speak with a comforting tone, "You don't have to tell Moon and make a medicine for me. It's just a bruise."

"If I agreed to meet up with ya, then this wouldn't happen..." Sapphire bit her lip. She stopped and pulled herself away from their proximity. "Excuse me," She stood up and went to the door.

Ruby's lips frowned as he watched Sapphire approach the door. She shouldn't blame herself, though. That situation was beyond their control.

"Sapphire," Moon greeted with a weak smile. She grabbed an ointment jar from her bag and gave it to her. "That should heal and remove the bruises. Just apply the ointment on it."

"Thank ya," Sapphire muttered. Her eyes looked at the jar in her hands. She was relieved that Moon managed to have the time to create an ointment. She definitely owed a lot to her research partner. "Ya wanna go inside?"

Moon shook her head. She placed a hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "I have a ride waiting for me outside. I can't stay, but..." She bit her lip as her lips later curved into a frown. "Sapphire, we found out that Professor Cozmo was food poisoned yesterday. What are we gonna do? Rakutsu is busy solving three cases in one go and we can't rely on him all the time."

"I know," Sapphire spoke softly. Her eyes were fixed on the floor. Her heart pounded wildly through her chest. She couldn't decide on what should she do first, for both were important. Her heart was telling her to stay home and take care of Ruby so she could ease her guilt. But at the same time, her mind was telling her to go to Devon and tell her boss what happened to his friend. She was conflicted with two difficult choices. "I'll think of somethin'. Surely, the thief must still be in Devon. I just need to look harder."

Moon folded her arms across her chest. The frown on her lips didn't waver. Her research partner sounded uncertain, but why? This was the first time she'd seen Sapphire lose her determination. Was this the effect of seeing Ruby got hurt? She just hoped Sapphire wasn't letting her emotions get the best of her. "Sapphire, I have to be honest with you: I can't go to Devon from time to time just to find that thief. If I do, then the thief might find out our plan and leave Devon without us knowing about it. Besides Rakutsu, you're the only one I can rely on to find that thief and our research. Lady Platinum is doing what she can and hires more police officers to help Rakutsu, but...you know him." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "He prefers to have less company with him."

Sapphire could only nod her head. She did her best to understand what Moon was trying to say. She sighed. "I'll do what I can." She mumbled.

"Please do." Moon patted her friend's shoulder and left.

Sapphire just nodded and closed the door. She was surprised to see Ruby looking at her from the living room. She opted to ignore his stare and sat beside him silently. She opened the ointment jar and placed it on her lap. "Moon made this." She muttered.

Ruby bit his lip and took a deep breath. Slowly, he removed his shirt and placed it on the table. He watched Sapphire dipped her fingers in the ointment jar.

Sapphire held her breath. She tried to fight the growing heat from her cheeks and her fast heartbeat. Ruby wasn't as buff as his father, but just by seeing his shirtless chest was enough to make her flustered. She mentally grumbled and ignored her thoughts. She focused on applying the ointment on his chest. She should have let him do this on his own now that she'd thought about it. She sighed and proceeded to apply some ointment on his cheeks as an awkward silence lingered between them.

Once Sapphire was finished, Ruby grabbed his shirt and put it on. He leaned on the couch and sighed. "I'll go with you tomorrow."

"No," Sapphire put the lid in the jar and set it aside. Her eyes were fixed on her lap. "Yer gonna stay here and rest. I insist."

"But you need help..." Ruby tried to reason. He grabbed her hands and interlocked his fingers with hers. "I'm better now. I just need to rest for today then I can go with you tomorrow."

Sapphire bit her lip. She hastily removed her hands from his and gently placed it on his chest. She gripped the fabric of shirt as she bit back a sob. "No!" She firmly replied. "You'll either go to work tomorrow or stay here. I can't risk seeing ya get hurt again..." She lowered her head and buried it in his chest. She sighed. "I don't wanna see ya get hurt. Please, just stay home where yer safe..."

Ruby took a deep breath. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "I know I won't get hurt as long as I'm with you." He muttered and pressed his nose in her hair, inhaling her unique scent. It was enough to calm his mind. "Please—you need help. Don't shut me out."

Sapphire pushed him away and closed her eyes, refusing to look at him. "I ain't shuttin' ya out, Ruby. I just want ya safe. You'll help me a lot if ya stay home or go to work tomorrow."

Ruby thought about her request as a frown appeared on his lips. She was stubborn like him. He wanted to help, but he was so stupid for letting those numskulls beat him up. His condition was enough for Sapphire to blame herself, but he knew she had nothing to do with this. If he didn't punch that guy's face and gave him money then this wouldn't happen. It was his fault for giving Sapphire another problem. "I'll stay, but—I need Trevor's phone number."

Sapphire furrowed her eyebrows at his request. She removed her hand on his chest and grabbed her phone to look for Trevor's number. If that would make him stay home then she would give him the boy's phone number. "I don't understand why ya want his phone number, but here it is. Don't bother him that much, though. He's still a student."

"I won't. I just need to tell him to...you know."

Sapphire didn't respond. She knew what he meant and she knew he meant well. As much as she wanted to remind him that she was capable of taking care of herself, she instead opted to bob her head slowly. "Yeah,"

Ruby just nodded. He grabbed his phone and bit his lip as he typed Trevor's phone number. He hated to break his promise, but he had to. He had to catch that thief and help Sapphire. His condition could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part where Lack-Two and Black turned around when Ruby and Sapphire were talking is a Black Panther reference. XD
> 
> Oof idk what to do with this fic since I hate this so much but I hope you're still enjoying it! A better fic is coming out this August. I promise. ;v;

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed (and will enjoy) it as much as I had fun writing it. The crime part will appear in later chapters since well...the genre says it's a crime fic, hehe. Thank you all again and happy birthday Sapphire, my favourite female fictional character of all time!
> 
> Also, many thanks to everyone who read this. Thank you as well for the beta readers (especially to my friend, Nue) I've hired to check this fic multiple times, haha. ^^
> 
> Stay safe, everyone! ^^


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